The Silent Ambush
by goldduckies
Summary: The story of Nikita's escape and search for Alexandra Udinov. Pre-Pilot.
1. Chapter 1

Turkish-Armenian Border 2007

Sprinting towards the safe house where she had hidden provisions for the next few days, Nikita ran into the forest dripping from the river water that she'd been in only moments before. But, before she could move, she had to get rid of her tracker. Pulling out a knife from her boot she looked at her faint hip scar. She found the bump where the implant was and stabbed it feeling it break within her. Her cell phone read that her tracker was offline marking her as dead. She crushed the phone with her heel and ran.

Her timetable was clear, the house was 30 minutes away on foot but, because she ran, she would be there within 10. The provisions that she had hidden in her closest were stashed carefully: some clothing, various identifications with passports to match. Her escape was a plan she had devised 3 months prior- the very minute she had been told of the operation. Through the Turkish forest she ran until she came upon the log cabin. Checking her watch, she realized she had about 20 minutes if Kelly walked and even less if she had run away out of fright. For the first time while working for division, she hoped her partner was lazy.

She entered the house and ran towards her things, not matter how pressed her time was, she needed to clean up. Nikita didn't have much and her health was not something she was willing to risk. She removed her split tracker with eyebrow tweezers and bandaged her hip. After a quick rinse, she changed into a pair of black leggings and a fitting grey shirt, clothes that were yet to become her uniform.

Running towards the floorboard, she lifted one of the loose pieces of wood until the counterpart glued right next to it broke as well. After stashing some money, passports she checked her watch again. With an estimated time of 2 minutes left she was already finished. Throwing her backpack over herself and purse over her shoulder, she walked over to the kitchen where she had left a half full water bottle; she finished it off and tossed it in the bin. It was time to go and with one last look, Nikita heaved a sigh of relief and walked out of the safe house, and out of division.

She would hike for hours and stop, then again and another stop. 6 hours after leaving division behind, Nikita finally reached a Gyumri small Armenian city that had a taxi transportation system. She approached one of the drivers who sat in his car smoking what appeared to be his 6th cigarette. On the verge of collapsing she knocked on his door and he looked over. "Yerevan airport" she croaked. Breathing out the smoke he had just inhaled, the balding man nodded and made a notion for her to get in as he was to lazy to speak. The fat man got out of his taxi, grabbed her bags and threw them into the trunk while she settled in. She looked at the half green half yellow hills for a few moments until she dozed off.

Nearly two hours later she awoke to the sounds of car honks and for a moment forgot where she was. As she regained her composure, she realized they were there. The car rode on and after a few more seconds of sightseeing the city that was made entirely of stone she saw it. Tapping the driver, she pointed to the airport. He nodded once more and pulled over. She paid the driver her fare from a skimpy wallet, then cinched her backpack up on her shoulders, grabbed her purse, muttered a thank you and left.

She walked in and for the first time ever she looked around the airport and felt relief. This was a trip back home! She hadn't killed anyone and wouldn't be …hopefully. Michael was wrong, you couldn't get used to taking a life, at least she didn't. She pushed out her thoughts about him; thinking about him would bring up Daniel. Her new mission was simple to stay dead and find Alexandra.

How she would do in the grand scheme of things she wasn't quite sure but it didn't matter. She was Nikita, as Amanda would always say, Nikita could do anything she put her mind to and that was exactly what she planned to do.

After buying her ticket, a one-way flight to New York she approached the terminal. One last look and she went in, now all that was left was for her to sleep the next 16 hours so when she got back to New York, she would neither be jet lagged nor put off schedule.

"Ladies and gentleman this is your captain speaking the turbulence is over and the seatbelt sign is unlocked so feel free to walk around again. We'll be landing in about two hours so stay put and enjoy the rest of the flight."

For fourteen hours she'd been out. At least she was fully relaxed, they were supposed to land at 7 in the morning, now with more then a full night's sleep, she could start working. Hazel eyes opening wide she looked to her side and saw no one. I guess no one wanted the cheapest seat she mused to herself.

"You're awake!" Nikita heard a voice exclaim. "Goodness you were out like a light, would you like me to bring your meal now?" A leggy blonde stood to her right in a light turquoise airline suit that even Amanda would have approved of.

"Y-yes please" hunger took her. When was the last time she had eaten? She had never been one for eating a lot. Small light meals were what she always expected to fill herself up. 14 hours for the flight, 2 hours in the taxi, 30 minutes hiking with Kelly, 20 minutes scouting the area with Kelly, 40 minutes running away and packing and 2 hours between leaving for the operation and her breakfast. So that came about to 19 and a half hours, she'd handled worse.

"Sorry about the wait. Were all out of the regular meal so you're going to have to settle for the vegetarian, is that okay?" The stewardess held the meal in her hands hoping for Nikita's approval.

"Absolutely! Thank you."

"Anything to drink?

"No, no thank you" Nikita smiled again. She always drank coffee on the plane but no, not anymore. Division Nikita drank coffee, this one wouldn't. Unraveling her meal to find a warm bowl of risotto she decided she would go vegetarian. Well, technically she already was but this time for herself. When she'd been living in the recruit rooms and was served the bland food, it was the little things to rebel that counted. Starting with her first meal of pulled pork that Amanda had placed in front of her that Nikita had thrown away shrugged then said, "I'm a vegetarian". Besides she said to herself as she opened up her apple pie, meat was pricey, hard to cook considering her new place didn't have much of a kitchen and also, she argued to herself, she'd killed enough.

Once she cleared out most her plate, the stewardess took it away leaving Nikita and hour and a half to do whatever she would need. She took the liberty of planning the next few months. Pulling a notebook out of her backpack, she began to think.

Optimally, she would immediately go after Alexandra but it was too risky. No matter how much she hated it, it was important to stay out of Division's radar. Time was ticking when it came to finding the little Russian girl and everyday she could be loosing another lead. However, she would remind herself, with Division off her tail, no one would be hurt. With a twitch of her head and a roll of her eyes, she grabbed a sheet and a pen and began to write out herself a chart. For her, charts were nice, innocent and organized plus, division didn't like charts or plans, as it only had orders and reports.

General List

Secure money from Whitfield's bank

Move into loft

Design loft

Workout

Buy groceries

Go shopping

Set up computer system

Keep tabs on Division

Dig info on the Russian Mafia

Find Nikolai Udinov's driver

She went over her list. It was 6:20 in the morning and the bank opened around 8. She'd get there, empty the vault and leave. She knew exactly where she would store the money too. With the guns already at her apartment, she had her most important furniture there. One of the large cases was empty; it seemed fit for her to put her money the same place where it came from.

Next came moving into the home. There was furniture in the loft already although she had made Whitfield clear most of it out. He had tacky taste. She also had her weapons there; all that was left was a shopping spree and new bedding. The beds were there too. About a month before, she had stayed late during a meeting and Percy had asked her to buy new beds. Two recruits had had it in for one another and destroyed each other's rooms along with the beds. This left them cancelled and the empty rooms in need of new furniture. So, as Nikita placed the orders for the beds to come she ordered two extra ones and sent them to her apartment instead. They were light in weight and easy to set up. And, because she was Nikita, no one ever asked any questions.

Working out was simple as well. Having everything she needed already it was possible to continue doing the same regime she did when she lived in her old apartment.

Morning 1h Run

Yoga

Core Conditioning

Weight lifting

Boxing

Buying groceries on the other hand would be different, shopping as well. Although she wasn't an Amanda, Nikita certainly liked nice things. She also liked food.

If she kept her head down and paid in super dollars, shopping wouldn't be a problem. Food was the same but with only a mini fridge, the trips would be frequent unless she cooked them and ate them throughout the week. But she couldn't cook in that apartment and to buy an oven would be risky and pricey. All she had was a mixer, a running water tap, a fridge and cutlery. She knew that every Saturday there was a fresh produce market a few blocks down, that's where she could go- the things would be organic and cheep. Then it hit her, she couldn't cook but she could certainly live off of veggie shakes, salads and other fresh foods they sold. She checked shopping and food off her list and moved on.

"Oh no…" she muttered. Technical babble. She was good, but Birkhoff was better. It was the beginning of the 'pining for Birkhoff saga'. She could definitely get her equipment from Henry and have him keep quiet. The man only did business with Division for money. The guy was a genius: from stalking people to getting the highest technology possible. He was, the best of the best. She'd go to his later in the afternoon and buy what she needed. Setting up computer system? Check.

Keeping tabs on division would be fine. She knew the pattern. It would be hard, but with 6 months in the palm of her hand, she would manage.

Digging dirt on the Russian Mafia would be okay. She had contacts here and there but Michael had more. Contacting him wouldn't be an option and she just hoped the next time she saw him wouldn't include him buried 6 feet under. She pushed her thoughts aside and got back on track. Dimitry and Oleg were her favorite contacts; she could get whatever information she wanted without infiltration. Russian mafia? Double check.

The Nikolai's driver was okay too. She had been keeping tabs on his family via satellite images. She had him tracked. The girl never showed upon the feed but she'd find her. She just needed six months to hide.

"Ladies and gentlemen welcome to New York! This is your captain speaking and we have arrived at out destination, I hope you enjoyed flying with us today and wish you all the very best".

She was about to raise hell out there and her disappearance was only the beginning.


	2. Chapter 2

With only a small backpack and purse Nikita marched out of the airport and headed straight towards the parking lot. A silver Honda Club waited for her with a note attached to the matching helmet.

_1 motorcycle and 2 cars both untraceable as instructed. The 2 cars are in the garage. This is where I leave you. Thanks for all the help and enjoy the super dollars – W._

The motorcycle although not quite her style was alright. She couldn't have asked for more especially from a supposedly dead man. 'Just like me' she thought. In a way, the words "supposedly dead' were daunting. 'I wonder if they've realized I'm not dead yet? I wonder how Michael's reacted and if Kelly's okay...' She pushed the thoughts aside and grabbed the key that had been scotch-taped into the helmet. Today was not a day for wondering. It was the first day of freedom and she planned to enjoy it. With the key in the engine she drove down the road away from LaGuardia airport.

Driving up to her apartment she noticed that for New York, the whole street was relatively vacant. It was hard to believe that it was only 15 minutes drive from Times Square. With small stores here and there and the Whitfield mansion where no one ever went, the street was nice. A perfect hideout she decided. Besides, even in New York no one was bold enough to approach a former mafia head house.

She entered from the back gate. The layout was genius. Practically a mini skyscraper itself the home had 4 stories. The first was the garage, located underground in order to not take up space.

Nikita unlocked the gate and entered. Turning to her right, she punched some numbers into what seemed an old telephone and heard the garage open. The layouts that rich mafia member could affords were impressive. After parking her car she went back up and closed the garage by clearing the dial screen and turning the phone off. She noticed the 2 other cars were there as well. A dark green Jeep she could get dirty and a nice flashy sliver Kia- very much her style.

Locking the backyard up again she went up front and looked at the mansion. This would be her new home.

She unlocked the door to the first real story. It was empty, as she had instructed, the last thing she needed was people breaking, entering and stealing her things. The room was grey and echoed; it was lit by 6 lamps that circled the room. Nikita looked around once more and deemed it satisfactory.

Climbing the stairs to the second level she saw the kitchen, which in reality was a pitiful sight. A running tap, a table, a mixer (which they surely used for margarita's) and a mini fridge that was probably used for storing the alcohol.

The second story was huge. She hadn't really noticed before because all that she had used it for was as a bridge to get to the 3rd story where she would live. Upon further inspection, she saw another room across the kitchen and went inside.

The bathroom was perhaps the only room in the entire mansion worth looking at. It was also the only room that a woman had probably ever been in.

A big white room with black tile on the floor and the same pattern running horizontally through the center of the white walls in the form of a thin black stip. On the black floor lay a small white carpet right in front of the bathtub and shower that looked as though it had been installed only moments before. A black and white vase with red roses was directly above the legless sink that was adjacent to the toilet, which lay right to a small white drawer. It was filled with towels and toiletries only found in expensive hotels.

Nikita took a step back. Whitfield had certainly outdone himself. The room was brand new and without a doubt the nicest lavatory she'd ever seen. The rest of the house may have been rubbish but this was a sight to see. She began to exit towards the door when she saw a new robe hanging from the door and matching slippers right next to the large mirror that hung on the spare wall with an expensive looking painting as its only accompaniment.

She left the bathroom and continued upstairs where she would be living. The layout was exactly as she had instructed Whitfield's nephews to make it. Her bed was set up while Alexandra's was closed and waiting for her next to the dining table. The table she'd shown from that catalogue was nice and new as well as the matching cabinets and small black lamps.

Reaching into her pocket Nikita brought out her list of to do things and crossed out both moving into and designing her loft. Whitfield had outdone the deal they had; she'd thank him if she ever saw him again.

She walked around a bit enjoying her new house when she noticed another note on the table.

_I took the courtesy of withdrawing the money for you. It's in the large black case, which you had said you were going to use as a 'bank'. Full amount, no question. All my money now belongs to you. Enjoy the bathroom my missus designed it. I think she likes you seeing as how you saved my life and all. Take care - W. _

"Check 3 and it's been less then a day, I think I really do possess those magical powers I'm always blamed of having". She said out loud to herself and he checked her appearance in the large vanity mirror.

She wasn't tired at all but she definitely had bags under her eyes. Nothing make-up couldn't fix but as she reached over she found that she had nothing. With another quick glance she realized that she didn't have any clothing either. How on earth would she go see Henry underdressed? The man always praised her on her appearance!

A few steps to the right she opened up the gun case and was intimidated by the amount of money. Hundred dollar bills were everywhere. There was more money in the large machine gun's case then she had ever seen and being around Percy meant she saw a lot of money.

Skipping to her bed she picked up her purse and brought out her wallet. She'd need a new one, too. Filling it with a few hundred dollars bills she placed it back in her bag. There was an expensive shopping centre near by with a huge Neiman Marcus. With one last look at herself in the mirror, she walked out of her home with 6 hundred dollars to spend on whatever she pleased.

She walked down blocks writing a shopping list for herself unnoticed by anyone around her until she arrived at the mall.

Leather & Regular Jackets

Jeans

Leggings

Shirts

Undergarments & Socks

Workout Clothes

Jewelry

Shoes

Make-up

Nightgown

Dresses

Through the Neiman Marcus she went picking things she liked up and tossing them around her arm. To Macy's and Nordstrom she went finishing up her shopping list that ranged from running shoes to sunglasses until at last she was finished. Her inner Amanda was completely satisfied and walked back home in her new shades with bags of clothing.

Arriving back she enter the mansion which slowly but steadily had begun to feel like home for her. Seeing it the third or fourth time around, she felt a strange warmth surround the place- even though it was made entirely of cement.

Dumping her new garments on the bed she began to sort all her things out, it was hard to believe she had been able to buy everything on such a budget especially considering she had nothing before the trip.

After hanging everything she had bought and placing all the other items about to give the room a home like feeling, Nikita realized that she hadn't showered after the plane ride and now was the perfect time to try out both the new bathroom and clothing.

The kiss of water hit her skin softly washing away all the previous days work. It had been long journey and she was glad it was over. The floral smell of the shampoo rinsed her hair for the first time in what seamed like ages calming her body. She was done with Division; finally free from their claws. The floral scent mixed with water was the scent of freedom.

She exited the shower, brushed her teeth and looked in her reflection. Perhaps it was this newfound idealistic freedom that made her smile but it was something she hadn't genuinely done to herself in the longest time.

Nikita left the bathroom and headed towards the kitchen hoping that Whitfield might have also stocked the fridge but to no avail.

"You withdraw the money, get me cars, fix my room up, build me a bathroom and even have cleaners come and wipe this place down but you forget to stock the fridge? Gold star."

She grabbed the leftover cash she had in her wallet, pulled on some of the brand new clothing, dried her hair and went out, it was time she explored the new street she'd be living on.

A Thai restaurant, 3 boutiques, an electronics store, a lulu lemon and finally a fresh produce store. New York's packed streets were good in a way. Everything was everywhere and anything you wanted was available.

She walked towards the small outdoor produce market. Grabbing the fruits and vegetables that were on sale and looked like they would be edible when mixed together she went towards the register when she spotted the small package of fresh tofu. With vegetarianism at its finest she grabbed the box, added a loaf of bread for good measure bought the food and left.

Back in the kitchen she mixed herself a drink and took out the tofu and sat down to eat. She brought out the small cell phone she had bought while passing by the electronics store and dialed Henry's number. She needed to set up her computer system and the only way to do that would be with his help.

"Hello?" the voice hit her like an iceberg. "Hello? This is Michael, Henry's busy at the moment but he'll be back in a moment can I help you? Hello?

She hung up. Michael. Why was he there? She knew he was a client but why? Why the first day of her freedom? Why his voice? Even worse, his voice reminded her of his face. She shook her head to push every tear and thought away.

"I'll just visit Henry in a few hours" she said and began to eat while thoughts of Michael took her. She missed him. 6 months in solitude was too long a time.


	3. Chapter 3

_38…39…40… _

Nikita lowered herself to a perfect 90-degree angle. It was a typical day in her loft and without anything else to do or anyone to visit she just worked on her conditioning.

3 months had passed since she ran out and begun her new life. As it turned out, leaving the past behind and laying low was much easier then she'd anticipated. The problem, however, was boredom.

She wasn't used to doing nothing. Sure she worked out and then went online to keep up with what Division had been doing but it wasn't enough.

_5…4…3…2…1…_

Releasing herself of the plank position she was in, she dabbed the beads of sweat with a small towel.

What drove her was determination. The force to take down the very people who had ruined her life- all she needed was three more months.

The computer beeped a few times and she walked over allowing access for a video message.

"Ah Nikita!" A charming brunette popped onto her computer screen.

"Hello Henry" pouring herself glass of water she tilted her head "what did you do this time?"

"Brought in a new stock and I have technology and gadgets even you couldn't resist."

"And Division?"

"Michael already came by, they grabbed everything I showed them. But I did reserve some things just for you."

"That's perfect, thanks Henry." Checking her watch again "I'll swing by around 8, sound good?"

"That's great, see you then"

"Bye"

She couldn't have asked for a better supplier. Not only did he keep her from Division but he also adjusted his timetable to work late nights so Nikita could come in. With Division monitoring every feed, nighttime was her only real friend.

_**2 hours later**_

A freshly showered Nikita left the apartment in a nice suit holding tightly onto her purse, which held more money then some of the stores she passed made in a year.

Turning onto a practically vacant street the clicking of her heels echoed throughout the block.

Disappearing into the large office building, she walked towards the nearest elevator and had it take her to the highest floor.

The bell, signaling her arrival, rang as she walked out.

"Just a moment!" Henry paced into the room. "Hello Nikita, lovely to see you". With a quick kiss on the cheek to greet her, he walked over to the wall and unlocked the storage base.

Appearing out of nowhere computers and their various ammunitions appeared on one wall. Technology based items on the other and onto the table small gadgets.

"Sit, sit!" He brought some tea over to her. Taking the nearest seat she placed her bag upon the table and drank from her cup.

"So Henry, what's new? Why call me out?"

"Well, if you must ask" he said picking up 3 heavy guns and placing them in front of her "these babies have quite a bit to do with it".

"You know I'm not looking for guns at the moment" she protested.

"Yes, but that was before you knew about this…" bringing over a small light silver handgun he placed it in front of her. "It combines all three of these guns into a small beautiful thing".

"I'm speechless"

"You like it?"

"Love it."

"Well, then consider it a complementary gift, it's yours"

"For free? You know I couldn't…"

"Its your birthday isn't it? Besides, it's very rude to question a gift, you know. Isn't that what you told me on my last birthday?" Blushing she smiled brightly at him.

"Thank you."

"Anytime" he winked. "But that's not all folks, we have another hour's worth of inventory to go through".

"I'm not shocked. What else do you have for me?" Henry walked over to the drawer and pulled out a bright colored cosmetic bag.

"Another gift? You've really outdone yourself" Nikita joked. Henry chuckled and opened the bag.

"Not quite. Guess what this is." He asked pulling out a small golden tube.

"Uh… lipstick?"

"Close, but no cigar- it's a remote control."

"Control to what exactly?"

"This" showing her small case that matched the lipstick tube. "It's a bomb, simple to use as well as undetectable. On the outside, you have a lipstick tube and matching blush case. However, open the blush case, attach it to whatever you need, open the tube to make it seem as if your about to apply and bang! Anything until the size of a small yacht is blown up: you just have to adjust how big you want the explosion be in the back of the case."

"It's very me, I'm impressed. Is it a finished sample or will I have to wait a few more months until you've perfected it?"

"A few more months tops and then its yours".

"Perfect. What else do you have?"

"A flower for your hair" he said bringing out a small yellow daisy.

"I'm flattered. What does it do?"

"Two things at once. First, its base is made of a strong metal, which is perfect for lock picking. The second can knock a grown man cold. You take the flower, twist its flowers away from the bud and out of the leaf a knockout perfume is blown out."

"Impressive, it even smells like vanilla. I haven't been this pampered since I visited you three months ago".

"You mean before you cut me out."

"I had to, for your safety as well as mine. You know we had to minimize contact. Besides, I'm here now, aren't I?"

"I guess so. Anyway, next up we have yet another guessing game. What's this?" He pulled out a palette of shimmering eye shadows.

"Eye shadow?"

"Wrong again!" he clapped his hands together.

"Really? Why bother make me guess when I'm going to get it wrong…"

"Because its fun. And, because one of my most badass, if I may say so myself, weapons needs a good introduction."

"Why? Does it spontaneously combust or melt metal?" Henry's smile faded.

"How-h-how did you know? That's not fair!"

"Relax. I was joking. Now in all seriousness, what does the eye shadow do?"

"Like you guessed" he huffed. "It can melt through metal."

"That's really impressive" she looked up. "Really Henry pull yourself together, I was reading the news when some kids show popped out and the guy could melt metal. "

He nodded. "And besides" she added, "your genius doesn't match with mine, what would I do without you?" Feeling his ego rise at the added sentence he went back to his usual self and brought out a few more items.

"The rest I've also custom made for you" he told her while he dumped everything he had on the desk in front of her.

"All for me?"

"Of course. Now here I have a standard Kevlar except it fits very small people. It's both lightweight and sweat resistant. Also, boots that you can walk ridiculously long hours in and they have a knife and baby gun compartment fit in." He looked at her. "You know, for such a small person you have big feet."

"And did you know" she retorted "for such a small person I can do a lot of damage."

"I'll take your word for it. My last gift to you..." He brought out a knife that matched the gun he had given her. "Last time we talked, I figured you were looking for someone. Here's a good luck knife, stay safe."

"Wow, thanks Henry. So, can I pay you the ridiculous amount now?"

"Absolutely. When it comes to money, you can pay me any time." He began punching numbers into the calculator and when he finished pushed it over in front of her. "I'd rather not say the amount out loud." He began to grab her items and pack them.

"Me neither." Nikita responded as she grabbed tens of her super dollars at a time until she hit the marked amount.

Ding. The bell, that originally signaled her arrival rang.

"What's that?" Nikita's eyes widened as she looked around.

"Were about to have company." Henry pointed to the empty kitchen that was hidden by a half wall. "In there, I'll keep the person out."

The door knocked three times and then swung open.

"Birkhoff?"

_Damn._

"Hey Henry, Percy wants me and Michael to pick some things off before his trip tomorrow and we forgot to call in so yeah. Your not busy, right?"

"No… I guess not. What do you need?"

"I don't know Michael has the list."

"And how long until he gets here?"

"I'm already here." Michael walked in. "Percy needs a new Kevlar and cell phone. Preferably one that wont break when he throws it against a wall."

"Yeah sure, give me a second." He walked out to the main table to fetch the items. "So tell me, why'd he throw his phone against a wall?"

"Try Nikita going off the grid and disappearing into thin air."

_Wow, he actually sounds kind of bitter. He must be jealous I didn't stick around for him. _

"She's dead?"

_Talk about bad conversation making skills. Easy does it._

"I didn't say dead. I said disappeared."

"Disappeared? He said while calculating the total price. "Wasn't that the point of those trackers?

_Nagging him on wont keep you alive, dear._

"Yes and apparently they're flawed." In a weak attempt to ease the tension, Henry pushed the calculator towards Michael.

"Check will be in your account by midnight tomorrow." Placing the objects in a bag, Henry quickly ushered the two out, locking the door behind them.

"Birkhoff didn't talk a lot. It's not like him, no dumb jokes or anything." Nikita said coming out from her hiding spot.

"He's scared of me. Doesn't admit it but I definitely creep him out."

"His loss."

"I agree… That was close Nikita, too close. Imagine if I didn't have the kitchen."

"I know we'll figure something else out later. But for now, I think my door to door visits are over."

"Yeah. Give me a few months; I'll come up with something. And, when I do, you can have the perfected lipstick bomb."

"I'm excited already... By the way, what you said earlier about me looking for someone? You're right. In three months I'm going to take off and try to find that person. I'll get in contact when I'm back but until them, I'm laying low."

"Well, until that time, you can know I'll miss you." He shrugged to himself not knowing what else to say or do.

Grabbing her bags for her, Henry walked Nikita out to the door. With a quick kiss on the cheek she grabbed her bags. "Take care" he called out after her.

"I will, thanks" she returned his smile with a wink and left.

Back in the apartment she tucked away all her new gifts and went down to make herself a veggie shake.

_3 more months, Alexandra. If I can help you then I'd have done at least one good thing in my life. Just hold on, I will find you._


	4. Chapter 4

People often misunderstood what a powerful source of energy veggie shakes could actually be. They also misunderstood the part about how boring life as a rogue female spy in hiding actually was.

Laying low was a key component in her life. It didn't matter what she did as long as no one found out about it. Her day consisted of working out for hours at a time, researching more division missions, keeping the shell program running without anyone finding out about it, and veggie shakes.

She didn't particularly like them but it was perhaps the most entertaining thing she had- and the greatest amount of human contact she got in a week.

Which is why she found herself at the produce market that showed up once a week with fresh and on sale fruits and vegetables.

_Kale, spinach and lettuce for my bases, strawberries and banana's as the sweets and ginger, carrots and papaya for good measure. 1 week's worth of veggie shakes ladies and gentleman. This is what happens when your only kitchen item is a mixer._

Satisfied with her choices she waltzed over grabbed tofu, bread and a small carton of milk and proceeded to check out.

Back in her apartment, Nikita began to wash the fruit when she heard the door open.

"Come on babe no ones here…"

"I don't know- this place is creepy."

_My house? Creepy? You've got to be kidding me. I don't even want to see the filth you live in. Hmph._

"Come on, it's not that bad. Besides, it's empty and huge. We can do whatever we want here. Plus, it's a great space for the party tomorrow. What do you think?"

_Party? Hell no._

Running up to the third floor, Nikita put on her most intimidating outfit, grabbed her Springfield caliber and quietly walked down the stair to where the two teenagers were.

_Oh no, I hear sounds… please, please, please don't be doing anything dirty… _

When she arrived at the third to last stair, she looked over.

_Making out? Okay, this I can deal with._

Walking even heavier then before her heels echoed and the two teens broke apart.

"Hi there. I see you like my house."

"House?" The mousy blonde looked from the guy to Nikita and then to the gun in Nikita's hand.

"House." She replied coolly.

"Lady no one lives here, it's been vacant for months. It used to be a mafia headquarter before they broke up now they're gone."

_Lady? No one calls me lady._

"Listen _kid_ first off, the mafia doesn't just split up, they're not dumb teenagers. Two, it's my house- I've been living here for about four and a half months now. Three, take your make out session elsewhere."

"Lady" Nikita's eyes widened. _Lady again? Seriously?_ "I don't listen to my parents, what makes you think I'm going to listen to a 40 pound stranger."

_Jackass, I'm not 40 pounds._

"Hello, gun means talking time's for me. You will get out of this house. You will not come back. You wont consider having a party here- ever. The mafia temporarily moved out and I'm taking care of the place. They're my close friends and if I don't like something they'd be more then willing to take care of it. Not that I can't do it myself. Understood? Now go."

Scrambling to her feet the blonde grabbed her jacket, took the guys hand and left.

_Too close a call. Oh well their fault taking up my time like that- the milk better not be spoiled._

She justified her harsh treatment of the teens in her head before going back upstairs.

_Bored. I'm bored. There's nothing else to it- it's been 3 hours since those damn teenagers left. 3 hours, a four-mile run, 200 sit-ups, 100 push-ups, 50 pull-ups and a shower. _

_ I wasn't ever the life of the party when I worked with Division. But it's the fact that I can't go out in public for fear of being recognized that I'm being driven insane._

_ I need a mission. I need Michael to hand me a file that I'm going to spend weeks loathing. I need to glare at him for sending me to be some call girl or a killer. I need him to comfortingly put his jacket around me even though I'm walking away. I need Birkhoff to make a dumb Princess Bride reference. I need Div- no. No way. I don't need Division. Not now, not ever._

She checked her watch.

_It's 10 o'clock. I could use a nap._

Beep...

Beep…

Beep…

The alarm clock went off and a fazed Nikita walked over to her table turning the clock off. Quickly changing she was out the door in a few moment's time and found herself enjoying her 5am run more then she had in months.

Yesterday was just one of those days where no matter what she did, she judged everything. Where she doubted every decision she had ever made. But today as she ran towards the park, each footstep lighter and lighter her life fell in place. Something that had never happened in all her years of foster homes and running.

She was a person. Neither a monster nor a plane Jane. Just a person.

Her name was Nikita. She was raised in Detroit and passed around through the foster care system. She killed a cop- though her memory of the event was foggy. She became an killer who fell in love and now, after all of the things she'd been through she hit that point in which good or bad stopped mattering. She was just herself.

She deserved to live. After years of telling herself she was good for nothing she had brushed the thought with a single run.

She would find Alexandra Udinov once released from her personal prison. And when she did, she would be worthy of her presence.

The computer went off.

Its IP address had been accessed, which was impossible- it had been cleared and cleaned. Nothing could track her or trace her, not even Birkhoff.

A message chat came in.

_Oh crap, I'm dead._

If someone had found her- let alone division, she wouldn't last the night.

Without anything to lose, she let the message go through.

** Nikita, hi. It's Henry.**

Breathing a sigh of relief she ran her hand through her hair and responded.

** You gave me a heart attack. What's up?**

** I have a few assignments you might be interested in. They're untraceable and no one would ever have known you were around. I thought instead of hitting the gym or whatever you could use a few things to keep you active and ready for when you go out to find this mystery person of yours.**

** What's in it for me?**

** Anti-division assignments, free exercise and lots of super dollars.**

** What's in it for you?**

** Percent commission and more buyers. **

_Oh Henry, always honest. It'll get you in trouble with the ladies one day. Nikita chuckled to herself. _

** Anything else?**

** I do miss you, it'll be nice to see your pretty face again. The weapons I showed you last time are ready as well so that's an extra bonus. Will you do it?**

_Logically, I should stay and hide out. As much as I hate to let him down, I have to look after myself first. _

With a sigh she typed back.

** I'm in.**

After all, what's life without a little risk?

10:00 PM

Sig Sauer in boot, Nikita walked into the brightly lit Sheraton hotel.

"Checking in miss?" A worker asked from behind her.

"Going to see a friend" she smiled and continued walking. The elevator opened in front of her and she entered. Clicking the button for the highest floor she waited. In the meantime, Nikita checked her appearance in the mirror, she'd been drowsy in the morning but, she remembered the first step to feeling good was looking good.

Ding.

The doors opened and Nikita walked towards room 613, her Salvatore Ferragamo perfume flooding the hallway. Entering the slightly ajar room she found herself in a completely uninhabited penthouse. Noticing the only used thing she looked at the notepad, which lay on the table.

_Go upstairs. 2) Remember, glass is meant to be broken- especially when the alarms wont go._

She analyzed the paper once more.

In Division, she had was taught that order was everything. The first word had more importance then the one to its right no matter what.

Go upstairs.

_Oh Henry, penthouses are the upstairs. Unless… he couldn't possibly mean the roof._ She attempted to brush the thought but the nagging feeling in her gut confirmed her assumption.

_There must be a reason he took this penthouse. He lives 2 blocks away for god's sake, it's not like he'll be staying the night. Also… why pay so much money for the penthouse. The room probably leads to the roof._

In a fit, she began marching around the room trying to find a way out until she heard something crack underneath her. Bending down to see what she had smashed, Nikita found a small broken shard of glass.

_Remember, glass is meant to be broken…_

Inspecting the shard without touching it she noticed a single thing in the reflection; a design on the ceiling. Unable to touch the design she scooted over a small sofa and climbed it. Pressing up ever so slightly at the pattern she found a part of the ceiling lifted up and out sprang a small rope ladder.

_Oh jeez. These heels aren't going to like the next 4 steps._

Climbing up the rope ladder, note in hand she found herself in front of a red car.

Attempting to read the note in the dimly lit atmosphere Nikita looked again.

_2) Remember, glass is meant to be broken- especially when the alarms wont go._

There had to be a reason that he put the 2 there. She looked around and saw an fire extinguisher.

_2. A second time_.

It finally made sense to her. She walked over breaking the glass with her elbow and brought out a alarm key. Clicking it the car sprang to life and she went it.

_I seriously hope he doesn't expect me to ride this thing off of the hotel, suicide isn't really my main priority at the moment._

Only a second later a the GPS system showed his face and he greeted her just like he did when they first met years ago.

"Ah, Nikita!"

"Hello Henry, nice car."

"Thank you. I'd say 'you can have it' but I'm not sure you could transport it." He chuckled at his own joke.

"You said you had something for me?''

"Yes. Six small missions; Division related and discreet. They're all short and sweet."

"The pay?"

"1 million per mission" he tilted his head with a little smirk, "satisfactory huh?"

"Doesn't sound too bad. My itinerary, tickets and report?"

He nudged his chin. "Look under the seat, oh and Nikita, I was thinking from now on we could meet like this."

"Sounds good."

"Oh and, swing by the trunk, I got you a few things."

"I will, thanks Henry."

"Take care, I'll see you soon." The video feed shut off.

Quickly glancing over the mission reports she smiled to herself. These were good missions.

Nikita got out of the car and went to the trunk grabbing a suitcase out of it she turned the car off. A few steps later a small explosion happened behind her, she looked back and the car had been replaced by smoke.

_Henry really does like to clean things up after himself…rock and roll._

She exited the hotel lobby, portfolio clutched tightly in her hand and the suitcase rolling behind her as she dragged it along with the other. The first strike against Division was about to happen.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 1**

Her house was tastefully minimalistic. Ergo, packing was perhaps one of the simplest things Nikita could do. It wasn't long before she finished and drove herself to the airport.

12 Hours Later

Nikita grabbed a taxi to the Halkulani, a Hawaiian hotel where she would be staying for the next week. She entered room 93 and looked around, the people who hired her either liked her, wanted the job done well or had lots of money to throw around. Her money was on the second one.

She walked around the hotel suite, the room was as big as her loft back in New York. But in contrast, this one came with room service. The style was nice and relaxed, perfect for someone normal who wasn't here on dirty business. In a way, it resembled her bathroom back home. Perhaps Whitfield's wife had designed the hotel, too.

As always, she had slept on the plane so she'd be ready to go. Grabbing her water bottle from her bag she sat down to work at the nearest table.

She opened the portfolio and read the first mission entry it sounded simple enough.

Her objective was to download data off a computer, which was conveniently, located in suite 94. The data was something Division was also after. At the moment, Nikita didn't really care who ended up with the data as long as Division lost.

Within the hour she had vision inside room 94. And within four, the carrier exited his suite to go to the dining hall.

She quickly accessed the server and tapped into the key management room. Once inside, she rewrote the code on her card to match both her room and the man's.

Laying low, she went inside. The man's room was the same as hers although the color scheme played more on pinks and oranges while hers were all shades of sand and azure.

Opening the laptop, she rewrote the login code in order to enter the system. His data loaded and she pulled out the USB drive that she had carefully stored away in her boot. She downloaded everything, carefully avoiding the pornographic images and tucked the flash drive back into its place.

Click.

The door was about to open. In a panic, she opened the nearest window and climbed out.

She stepped out on to the railway holding tightly onto the wall behind her. The crisp Hawaiian breeze fluttered by, something she would have enjoyed had her life not depended on the wall behind her.

Click.

The door shut behind her rather loudly and Nikita climbed to the edge of the window and slipped back in. After making sure that the data was in place, she dashed out of the room and back into her own suite.

She stood in the middle of the room and then collapsed to her knee's holding them tightly.

_Michael was right, there is no such thing as an easy mission. _

Nikita stayed in the comforting position for a few more moments until she regained her composure and called in to tell Henry that the first job was finished. She had six more days to relax until her next flight, which would take her to Sao Paulo, Brazil.

She spent the next six days in paradise.

She would wake at 4 in the morning and swim, walk or run around the beach until it would get crowded with people at around 10. When she'd head back to the hotel, she would have breakfast (which for the first time in months didn't consist of veggie shakes) and then relax around in her suite until whenever she felt like going out again. She would hike around the volcanoes until she would find a luau or restaurant and would walk back to the hotel by 11. After her quick cold night showers Nikita would fall asleep more at peace then she had felt in years.

Hawaii certainly was a wonderful place.

Slightly startled, her hazel eyes roamed the unknown place she was in. Determined to not move she pressed her back against whatever held her. She lightly pushed her hips about to see what kind of restraints were holding her back only to realize she had gotten tangled in her blanket and safety belt. She was still on the plane.

_God, first class seriously has to do something about their designs. Reminds me of the fake Chinese prison cell Division held me in for one of their sick tests._

Heaving a sigh of relief, she checked her watch. 5:30AM. About 15 minutes until they would land in Brazil.

It wasn't that she hadn't ever stayed in good hotels before it was just that whoever owned this organization had really outdone it- not that she minded.

The Sofitel Sao Paulo was beautiful, unlike her next mission.

She entered the room. Unlike in Hawaii, the room was rather small and plain but similar to Hawaii, the view was to die for. Life, flowers, trees the height of skyscrapers, lights, and an inner fire she hadn't seen in many cities.

Her assignment was simple, all that she had to do was poison the ambassador and she would be done for the next week.

2 weeks and 2 million dollars. It was hard to believe that only 4 weeks (or in her view, 4 missions) from the upcoming Friday, she would have officially left division for six months.

Ah, the smell of freedom. It smelled like… fruit? Senses heightening, she realized that it was time for breakfast.

Downstairs, the hotel had an open complimentary breakfast. There wasn't much variety but it was all fresh and delicious.

Grabbing a tray, she placed in a papaya, some bread and a small plate, which held a light confiture. She found herself a cup of freshly brewed coffee and went upstairs.

She entered her light pink room and placed the tray on the table.

Nikita walked over to her computer, the plan to poison the ambassador was set for that very night and she needed to make sure the substance was in place.

"Ah, Nikita!" The computer screen was brought to life by a the chipper brunette.

"Hello Henry" she left the computer screen momentarily to grab her coffee. "I assume the plan hasn't changed?" He fidgeted with his tie.

"Actually, it has. I'm sorry Nikita. The ambassador is going to miss his meeting, you wont be able to complete the mission."

"So where does that leave me now?" She asked taking another sip of her coffee.

"The ambassador, Armino Santos is going to be attending a gala charity event today. Your ticket's being sent over as we speak. Nothing changed in the plan, just the location is different. Like before, you just have to slip the poison in his drink."

"Where is the poison?"

"The maid's bringing it to you, she should arrive shortly. She'll have your ticket, the poison and 500 dollars."

"500 dollars? What's that for?"

"It's the money they're giving you to spend on your outfit- your going to a very upscale place."

"They're generous…what's the catch?"

"No catch, it's just not every day that you find a professional who doesn't exist and hates the same people they do."

"And who looks as good as I do."

"And is as modest" he joked back.

"'Henry… are you working for these guy's or are you just supplying them with the arms?"

"Just supplying- you know I never get in bed with anyone."

"Except Charlize"

"Well, my girlfriend's pretty special. Anyway, take care. Report back when you've finished."

"Will do."

The shopping experience Nikita had was different and much more relaxing then in New York. This trip didn't include people attempting to bribe her into getting last season Jimmy Choo's or Amanda tagging along.

Instead when Nikita went shopping and entered the mall she found she liked its fresh air- without the disgusting aroma the food court would often present. After making rounds around the mall, she finally bought her outfit and left.

6:02 PM

She had less then an hour to get ready, the gala started at 7 sharp and the only progress Nikita had made was taking a shower and doing her nails.

She placed her dress out onto the bed and took her shoes of the box. Making sure the ticket and poison the maid had brought earlier was still in place she heaved a sigh and got ready.

7:00PM

Nikita Mears stepped out of the limousine that had been sent to fetch her. Carefully holding onto the black Chanel clutch that she had fetched out of her suitcase only hours before. Her long strapless dark indigo dress had a slightly flared mermaid skirt textured with tiers of airy chiffon ruffles flowing from the fitted, dropped-waist bodice that was sculpted with dense ruching.

Her silver high-heeled sandals reflected every step she took as she made her way over to the ambassador. She stopped midway as if to check her clutch for her cell phone but instead brought out a small vial.

Placing it in a pocket she has sewn into a ruffle she walked up to him.

"Excuse me do you know where I can find the waiter? He just passed with the champagne…" she deliberately approached Santos from the back. He turned to face her and she let out a fake gasp. "Oh Mr. Santos, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bother you." She pretended to begin walking away when he caught her at her waist.

"I'll take care of it, here, keep me company." The man snapped his fingers, gesturing to the waiter and eyes Nikita greedily to the point where she felt uneasy.

She ran her hand through her hair uneasily. She had curled it and then placed it into a neat bun- a state that she wanted it to stay in. The waiter arrived with two glasses of champagne and Santos took them.

"You know, the real party doesn't start until 9, everything else is boring speeches." He handed her a glass and stepped in closer. "I have a room upstairs, this is a hotel after all. Perhaps we could take this party up there?" He slid his hands toward her waist and then a little lower.

_Casualty of the job, Nikita. Stay calm._

Knowing that there would be no other way to get him alone without his bodyguards, Nikita took a seductive sip out of her champagne and edged nearer.

"I'd love to."

He motioned to with his hand to his bodyguards and led her upstairs. On the way he called over a waiter and ordered another bottle of champagne to the room in his other hand.

They reached his suite and Nikita walked over to the bed.

"We have two hours… what do you think, is it enough time? She took out the hair she had spent time placing neatly into the bun and shook her head.

"Oh yes." He began to unzip her dress when the door rang with the champagne. "I'll get that" He took his glass with him and walked to the door. Knowing there would be no way to get the poison into his cup Nikita quickly emptied the vial into her own champagne.

"Refill?" She lifted her glass flute towards him while she took off her dress to reveal her racy lingerie and moved towards the bed. He refilled the cup and walked towards her. He took of his jacket and lay on the bed.

_Oh god, he's so not getting some. But, like Amanda always says, when it comes to seduction, you have to fake it to make it._

Straddling the man she leaned in for a kiss and took her glass while pulling his upper body up by his tie. "Drink" she ordered as she fed him the poisoned liquid.

He laughed and snaked his hand around her body while he finishing up her champagne.

Suddenly his body seized up and the empty flute fell out of his hand and onto the other side of the bed.

Knowing there wouldn't be much time, she faked a few moaning sounds until she had her dress back on. She heard the locked door shake a few time. Nikita grabbed her clutch and ran out onto the balcony. She looked over the neighbors had one as well. Climbing over the railing she tossed her clutch over onto the neighbors terrace and jumped into it as well, barely holding on, as she pulled herself up.

_I don't care how unfashionable it is, I'm never, going anywhere without a grapple gun again. Ever._

She checked inside the suite, there was no one there and she exited through the front door. She slipped out of the party hearing voices and the guards franticly searching for the woman in the dark purple dress.

And then she heard it.

"There! There she is!"

"What? Where!"

The guard pointed in the direction where Nikita had been but when they looked again, she had disappeared.

After multiple showers, Nikita found herself sitting on the edge of her bed. In general, justifying a kill wasn't something she was ever willing to do. However, this man was one of Division's international supporters; he had it coming.

Brazil, although amazing, hadn't been as relaxing as Hawaii, perhaps because she had to lay low and not go out. Santos' men were still out there looking for her- even though they didn't remember her face well. All they had been able to do was draw a rough sketch and they had even gotten it wrong- the girl they had drawn was French looking, nothing like herself. They even managed to get her height wrong. But as she put it, their mistake was her success.

She climbed off her plane, suitcase in hand. She was in Auckland, New Zealand and enjoying every bit. The objective was to finish off Jacob Huston, Santos' partner. He was also the monster in charge of setting 3 orphanages on fire to get publicity for himself as well as a space as a goodwill ambassador for donating money that he had stolen to repair the damage he had done.

According to her mapped out plan, she had 5 days of rest and on the 6th day, she was to take her shot during a speech he would be giving. On the 7th, she would board her next plane.

Ideally positioned the Duxton Hotel in Auckland was near a park in central Auckland. With its central location close to the main business district the hotel was also ideally located within strolling distance to the major shopping and entertainment areas.

The first five days she spent sight seeing, trying out any café she could find, visiting the park and scouting the stores.

_I'll miss it here; it's so green and fresh. Maybe I can take Alexandra and we can move out here…_

On the sixth day, she put on her suit and a wig. With her gun in her briefcase she left.

Jacob Huston would be giving his speech at 4:00PM- she had ten minutes to set up. Quickly checking in as Meagan O'Bryan a freelance blogger keen to hear Huston's ideas to protect the environment, she disappeared and went upstairs. She had perfect vision on the target within six minutes. With no one in the audience just yet- they were to be allowed entrance in exactly one minute, she decided that it was better she finish the job early.

Scoping her parameter, she loaded her gun and shot Huston straight in the back of the head. He fell.

A panic arose. By the time that the security even reached the area where she had been, not only was all evidence against her gone but also she was in her hotel taking a shower.

There were only a few times that Nikita had ever justified killing someone and this was one of those times.

_To be continued…_


	6. Chapter 6

Part Two

Marbella, Spain

7:20 AM

The woman in the white dress walked around the church. She lit a candle and then another. Praying softly to herself, the nonbeliever then walked out and motioned. Thunder echoed and the church blew up firing rays of golden sun. Nikita ran after her and when she came face to face with the woman in white she couldn't move.

"It's been a while, Nikita" Amanda said as she pulled out her gun. "Say hello to Daniel for me."

The shot echoed in her ears and Nikita awoke drenched in fear and sweat.

Six months of non-stop nightmares were perhaps ideal for a romanticized heroine in a film production but to Nikita, they were her worst nightmare, literally.

Running a hand through her damp hair, Nikita ran down to the bathroom and washed her face with ice-cold water. She had gotten to Spain 2 days ago but for some reason, she spent more time sleeping then she had in a very long time.

The nightmares were a constant in her life, perhaps the only constant in her life. They were different day-to-day, one day she was being chased by Michael and the other Amanda. Sometimes it was even the recruits she had gotten close to.

She had five days of rest and relaxation left, minus half of the 7th day. The plan was simple enough on paper. All she had to do was attend a meeting and steal some documents.

Until then, however, she would relax. Drinking some water from her bottle, she went back to sleep and within moments had dozed off into a deep slumber.

On the 7th day, she awoke and called room service ordering a hot chocolate, something she hadn't drunk since before Caroline had died. It was a comforting drink, the thick texture and sweetness brought back memories that although weren't necessarily good, had a value of their own.

After she finished drinking her breakfast, Nikita cleaned up, put on the very suit she had worn to take out Jacob Huston and went downstairs to where the meeting would be taking place.

She approached the table, presented her fake identification the secretary.

"Margaret Lin?" the lady peered over Nikita with her rimmed spectacles. She turned her face and nudged. "Seat 14."

Taking her seat Nikita looked around recognizing some of the faces.

After 4 hours of listening the speeches about the trade system between China and the Spain the meeting was finally adjourned and Nikita found herself in the middle of a banquet. The files were being taken downstairs and she had only 10 minutes, as she hadn't been invited to the after party.

Pulling out her earring that was in the shape of a heavy diamond she crushed it in her palm disabling all connections in the building. She set her watch, with only a 3-minute time frame; she'd have to be quick. She slipped in between the velvet rope and ran down to where the files would be and found her self in front of a door with out a lock to pick.

She dug into her bag, it was lucky for her that Henry had finished making all the items he had shown her months before. Nikita attached the fake blush case to the door and pulled out a tube of lipstick. Adjusting the explosion so it would be soundless she opened the lipstick all the way and the door blew open.

2 minutes left.

She ran inside to room and opened the drawer she had been told it would be held in. Grabbing the manila envelope placed it in her bag and ran upstairs.

10 seconds left.

She ran up each stair pacing faster and faster until she reached the floor. But she was too late.

"Hey! Restricted area!"

_Oh crap._

"I'm so sorry! I was just looking for the ladies room when I got lost and… I'm so sorry, please don't tell my boss. He'll fire me and I really need to keep my job. I'm so sorry…" The man, one of the bodyguards looked her over and made a defeated gesture.

"Yeah, all right. Go on ahead, the bathroom is to your right."

She heaved a small sigh of relief.

"Thank you so, so much! Really you are so amazing, you're like my angel." She scrunched her shoulders together and put her hand over her heart. "I like your tie."

She walked away, folder tightly pressed in her purse and noticed the man admire his tie in his reflection. Sometimes, manipulation really paid off. In all honesty though, she did think his tie was nice.

She spent the rest of her day walking along side the resorts; the palm trees gave the city a cool breeze albeit the weather itself was hot and humid. From a small café here to a restaurant there she relaxed until late when she went to her hotel to pack her things and leave. Her flight was at 1AM and she didn't have much else to worry about. She'd check in with Henry later, after she had reached Mongolia.

**Ulan Bator**

Lounging around her small hotel room, Nikita kicked off her sandals and made herself comfortable on the chair close by. She set her computer up and connected the satellite feed until she tracked Henry's IP address and messaged him. The chat went through to reveal the sleep deprived brunette with a mug of coffee in his hand.

"Ah… Nikita." He yawned helplessly and attempted to straighten himself up.

"Hello Henry" amused at his situation she chuckled "rough night?"

"My sister brought her newborn twins over, I'm never offering to take care of kids again."

"Where's Charlize?"

"Business trip… perfect timing too. Leaving me with 4 month olds…"

"You'll survive. Now, tell me my game plan- which James Bond character will I be harnessing today?"

"Whichever one does the boring stuff. You're meeting with Altan Doli, Mongol minister in his home. Now the tricky part is he's under surveillance all day. The only time he isn't is when he has women brought to him."

"I read the profile, I need to take paper's from him and deliver them into China, right?"

"Exactly. And the only way you can get those papers is with a little dress up. Check under the bed."

Nikita walked over, pulled out a box from under the bed and opened it to reveal some lacy lingerie.

"I feel like I'm a hooker more then a spy."

"I guess you are. I heard about Brazil." Nikita threw him a fake glare.

"Yeah, I don't plan on reliving that again. So when's my time frame?"

"9:30, he likes it at night."

"B-but I don't actually have to sleep with him- do I?"

"No, he's in on the plan. Actually it was his idea. Well I've got to go but I'll talk you once you land in China, okay?"

"Sounds good." The video chats screen turned black and Nikita walked over to the dark purple lingerie set. "Here we go, Brazil take two."

Walking in the dimly lit darkness that engulfed the city, Nikita entered the small house armed by security personnel. Her purse was swung over her shoulders as she donned her racy outfit scantily clad by a matching robe.

Her heels clicked behind her as she entered and passed the security check that included a brief flash of her outfit and a peep inside her purse that held a fake cell phone.

"Madame N, I've been expecting you"

_N, huh? That'll do._

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Doli. I expect you have the papers?"

"Straight to business eh? Do I not find out your real name either?"

"Unfortunately every moment we waste is precious so yes, straight to business."

"We have a 20 minute time frame for me to hand you papers, I think that's more then enough. And what about your name? I believe that even in America parents do not name their children Madame…"

"I guess they don't. But unfortunately I can't give out my name- it's dangerous in this business."

"I see and what business is that exactly?"

"I think you know the answer to that." Nikita walked over to the large vanity mirror and straightened her curly blonde wig. "Now where are these papers exactly?"

"Right here" he walked over and opened his desk drawer to reveal a small folder. "I don't know if I can forbid you to read these but I was hoping I could try? They're rather personal."

Nikita walked over and took the folder and placed it in her purse.

"What I do not know is not my business Mr. Doli. You have my word that these paper will be delivered to China with upmost confidentiality."

"I thank you for that. My confidants told me I could trust you."

"And who would those confidants be if I may ask…?"

"Unfortunately I can't give out their name- it's dangerous in this business. As I'm sure you're aware." He said with a cheeky smile.

She tilted her head in a sign of defeat.

"Using my own words against me, that's impressive. But all right, I see where you're coming from. So, is this is? Do I leave now?"

"Almost, I actually have a gift for you. Like I said they told me I could trust you and to show my good faith, I have something that may interest you…"

He walked over, pulled out a gun case and placed it onto the desk. "Henry's a mutual contact for the both of us, yes? He finished this the other week and asked me to sell it to you and instead, I'm give it to you as a gift. I think you'll find it's perfect."

She opened the case to reveal a heavy looking silver handgun.

"Grapple gun, handgun and tranquilizer gun in one. You just have to refill and adjust the setting here" he said pointing to the side.

"It's lovely, thank you." She placed it back in its case. "I should go now."

"I suppose you should. It's time I play a certain video loudly - the guards might wonder why we're being so quiet." Nikita's cheeks flushed. Ah, the wonderful world of porn video's, even spy's had uses for them. Nikita grabbed her things and headed towards the door.

"Goodbye Mr. Doli."

"Goodbye Madame N. I don't expect I'll see you soon?"

"I hope not at least for your sake. But, you never know…"

He tucked his hands into his pockets and walked her out into the street.

"You never know. Enjoy the gun… Nikita."

She whipped her face to look at the man who'd just called her by her real name but when she did, she found herself staring into the darkness of an abandoned marketplace.


	7. Chapter 7

China.

The stench, cigarette smoke and humidity killed her. And yet…

Harbin, China.

Ended up being one of the most fascinating places on earth.

The charm it presented was on par with its unpleasantries. But the experience of Asia was one she had looked forward to.

In Division, the Asia trips, albeit frequent, were quick and disorganized. She had only 2 operations one in Vietnam and one in China but neither turned as expected.

Amanda had rules of never letting people get attached and she felt that Nikita would make a bond with Asia so she was never really allowed to go. Kelly always got the Asia trips- Nikita would merely be a substitute when needed.

After hours of disorganized train trips with no one even knowing which trains worked, Nikita found herself in a dumpling house with one week to spend before her meeting with Lo Tien-Fu.

The vacant room was overshadowed by all the big restaurants but perhaps, that was exactly why Nikita had picked it. Its small and placid atmosphere fit her. The tranquility that China lacked was here in this very room.

She was seated next to a bright red wall and waited for the menu. There was no one in but the room itself felt as though it held many people. That was Chinese charm at its finest- an inexplicable presence.

"My only customer, welcome." A thin Chinese woman stepped out from where the kitchen was located. Gracefully walking towards Nikita and holding out a menu. "You're American, I presume?"

"Yes. Is it that obvious? Nikita gave her a shy smile.

"Well at the moment, every local is either at work or at school and every tourist is visiting the local place close to their hotel that has a high critique. I don't allow critic's to come inside so, go figure…"

"Yeah, I guess so. So are you the owner?"

"Owner, chef, waitress you name it." A slight shock came through.

"Wow, that's a lot of work you set yourself up for."

"Well what is life without work?" She placed the menu onto the table and Nikita browsed through.

"What's the special?"

"It's whatever fresh ingredients I have and whatever I feel like making. No special entrée is ever the same."

"Well in that case could you make me a vegetarian special?"

The woman nodded, winked and left.

"I'll be back in 15 minutes."

The meal was brought before her in a classic manner, from the dumplings to the soup every morsel was eaten and thoroughly enjoyed.

"Was it good?"

"Oh yes, I only have 6 more days here but I think this is where I'll be spending most my meals…"

"No empty promises, child. But thank you, I'm glad you like it."

"I don't make empty promises."

The woman had seated herself in front of Nikita while she ate meditating her time away. When the meal had finished a hot pot of tea had been brought and they sat they sat in peace looking over one another, without judgment. It was what Amanda had always lacked, a tranquil look that had no prejudice that kept Nikita from trusting her. But sitting in the restaurant Nikita found what she had looked for. Something that in a way, with all the peace she had presented, Carla never had.

"What's a tall, good looking, skinny woman with impeccable English doing here?" Nikita asked the woman who had presented herself as Wong. "How did you get here?"

Wong tilted her head and gazed at Nikita. Her eyes filled with an inexplicable melancholy. Battered by years.

And yet the sun shone through in the ambers specs of her eyes. The only parts of her eyes that weren't covered in a dark brown cloud.

"I was born in Hong Kong and I studied to become a doctor. For years I worked that way. I had a husband but after he died I decided to move here to Harbin where my grandparents lived and worked."

"You have no children?"

"We were both too busy and now I just regard my clients as my children" she chuckled to herself.

"So, you're my mom whenever I come to eat here?" Nikita teased.

"Exactly."

It was strange, how easy they felt around each other, a calm chemistry bonded them.

After another promise of return, Nikita walked over to her hotel dazed and plopped down in a seated position onto her bed.

_I've never trusted anyone. Everyone from Caroline to Carla had to earn my trust and now I meet someone who I don't even wish to test. The energy she radiates…that serenity she naturally brings forth… I want that. I want to be that. How is it, that in all these years, I've been able to find flaws in every person I've ever met and now nothing? She truly is like a mother…_

_Maybe I shouldn't trust her. Maybe I should run away and never return._

_And yet, I don't want to. She can be a division agent for all I care but this…this is one woman I will take my chances with. This is someone who I will trust._

The week passed by quickly, her daily visits to Wong's were more of a home to her then the hotel.

The woman was lonely and all alone.

Nikita was lonely and all alone.

And together, the company they presented one another with was comfort like no other.

**August 25****th****, 2007**

**Beijing, China**

**11:23am**

As instructed, Nikita had been staying in Harbin to insure the fact that she would not be spotted. Now, the time had come and she emerged into the busy streets making her way to the meeting where Lo Tien Fu would be waiting for her.

Her hand running through her hair she made her way into one of the many skyscrapers and walked up to one of the many secretaries.

"Um… hello" she said in mandarin. "I have an appointment with Lo Tien Fu at 11:30"

A slim woman put her appointment book down and looked up checking Nikita up and down as though to guess her name.

"Madame N? What a strange alias to go by… just a moment…"

Within seconds a guard had appeared ready to take Nikita up to the room. She clutched the files carefully and followed.

"He'll join you in just a moment. Sit here and do not move."

_Harsh way to put it. Asian hospitality at its finest, I suppose._

The door opened behind her only moments later and a tall, good-looking man entered.

"Lo Tien Fu, It's a pleasure to meet you, Madame M."

Nikita studied him for a moment.

She took his hand and shook it.

"The pleasure's all mine"

"So now, shall we get down to business? I've heard you're quite straightforward." He grinned.

_Something's wrong… this guy's not CEO material, friendly, young, good looking. I know its sounds harsh to judge his good qualities but for some reason, I don't want to give these files to him. Maybe if I test him a little…_

"So…. Lo Tien Fu how long have you managed the company?"

"Uh-" He looked to his right and then visibly relaxed brushing the stress from his face. "5 years."

"You seam a little young though but I suppose some people age at different rates… tell me, are you married?"

Nikita followed his eyes as they once again shifted to the right and found herself staring into a translucent small mirror.

"Y-yes."

"Interesting. Now if you don't mind can the real Lo Tien Fu please step out? The documents form what I've heard are sensitive and I'm not really one to trust other people…"

"Smart girl, just a minute…"

The man nodded, muttered a goodbye pairing it with a half smile and left.

"Bravo, you're just as good as they promised."

_Grey hair, unhappy face, slightly pudgy and in a fake Gucci suit. Now this is more like it._

"Thank you. Its nice to finally meat the real you."

"The pleasure's all mine. Now you have the files?"

Nikita nudged at the desk. "Excellent. And do you know what they contain?"

"Not a single word."

"You haven't been tempted to look?

"What is not mine to seek is not mine to know."

"You really are a professional. Now, I have 3 minutes left until my next meeting and from what I know, the agreement was so that you finish all of the missions and then you schedule a ticket to wherever you want. Am I correct?"

"Yes"

"Well it's my pleasure to say I'm in charge of the buying of the tickets. Now where to?"

"I need 2 more day's here in China and then I need a one way to Russia."

"Done. The money will be wired to your account by Sunday. Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of. You know where I'll be staying so the tickets will be sent?"

"I don't but my secretary does."

She heaved a sigh of relief. The past few weeks had been a whirlwind and she was happy they were over. All that was left was Operation Alexandra and she'd be a go-go.

"Thank you. It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

"No, thank you. I must leave you now but you know where to contact me. Goodbye, Madame M…"

The door shut behind her and she was left all alone.

_I'm so exhausted; I'll sleep on the train back to Harbin and then go to Wong's…_

_And then to Russia._


	8. Chapter 8

There's a certain stigma that correlates with the femme fatale.

The fearless mystery woman.

The assassin.

The rogue.

The Spy.

She's a beauty.

She's incredibly intelligent.

She trusts no one and needs no one.

She keeps her emotions locked up in her heart.

Until, that is, an incredibly handsome man comes to sweep her off her feet which throws her morals off balance making her decide whether to stay with him or the job. And for some reason, it always includes her in the clichéd red dress with a thigh slit.

At the moment, however, none of the above were correct.

Nikita, blanket wrapped and tissues in hand lugged over to the bathroom at the end of the private jet to relieve her body of the meal she'd had less then an hour before.

After the deed was done she washed her face once more and went back to the seat she had picked hours before.

Weren't spy's supposed to be these amazing non-humans who got laid every other night and had no problems getting up in the morning? Weren't they supposed to have a certain level of immunity, which let them led there so called top-secret lives? Weren't they supposed to-?

Ah, forget it.

The lives of spy's only looked good in movies and unless someone planned to become a film star playing an agent- she wouldn't recommend the life to anyone.

Hell it was easy to see how the Central Intelligence Agency was split up.

One part sat behind a desk and another behind a wheel. The third fucked around with the president's crew doing clean up on all the mistakes that were being made.

None of these people would ever wear a red dress or do something that belonged in a Tom Cruise film. They would rot away behind their desks working for a corrupt government no one even trusted.

Generally speaking, Nikita wasn't overly fond of government but her true feelings plus illness plus feminine problems plus still not having landed in goddamn Russia really got to her.

…To her and her glowing positivity, which, at this rate, was probably sailing around in Fiji, somewhere.

She checked her over her bags. Everything she had packed in addition to the money and items she had bought on her trips.

And Wong's food, of course.

The past six or so weeks had been-, as she'd put it in her mind day's ago- a whirlwind. With all her missions over, she was happy to finally be going to Russia. As good as hiding from a black ops organization sounded being remotely off their radar was better. For years she'd had one goal and now, as she traveled to Russia, she was close to achieving it- she hoped.

Until then however, she needed her rest. She kicked the seats in front of her down and lay in the bed like mess she had created and within a few more sniffles fell asleep.

5 hours later…

It was noon when she arrived at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow. Lucky for her, the private jet landed right around the corner from where the taxi drivers stood; she flagged one over and arranged transportation. Her first, last and most important stop was Nicolai Udinov's driver.

The ride would take around 20 minutes. Although in Russia walking and using the metro was much more useful, the street she needed was on the outskirts of the city.

She sat in the back inhaling the smoke that the driver breathed out from his nicotine-laced friend. It had been a few years since she was last here but the memories… that darkest memories she held came flooding back.

A collective waterfall of memories- she saw them, felt them and re-lived them. Simply being in Russia brought unimaginable thoughts back and she couldn't get them out. It was dark. Her life was dark. There were days in the beginning that she would be wasted just because her dreams had brought back everything she had pushed aside.

When she remembered, she was under complete hypnosis. She felt the scene, tasted it, heard and saw it in front of her own eyes. With her memories she would be transported into a world she had long sought to run away from.

She called her life 'marbled'.

Once she got one piece of her life back another would fall- it was the story of her life.

She found Alex and then had to give her up.

She had Daniel and lost him.

She had Michael and lost him as well. Or maybe, she thought bitterly to herself she never had him. Maybe he was not a marble. Maybe she was only something to think about occasionally and not even consider of his level.

Level.

It had always bothered her. Could people really see who she was just by looking at her?

Even in division, it was pretty visible who came from what background. None of them were ever part f the 1% but still- she was the lowest of the low.

Junkies or not, at least many of the people there had families at one point in their life. And, as a rule of thumb the so-called higher class stayed together and frowned upon those who looked like they couldn't pay a cent.

They 'high-class' could be homeless at day but the minute they were in division all nice and clean they walked the halls as if they owned them.

And until the trashy looking new people would prove themselves, they'd be frowned upon.

Nikita's confidence had never been good but division's high and mighty approach to everything made her retreat. She felt like she had fallen into a world she didn't belong in. The wild flower was slowly dying in the desert and would never have a chance to bloom.

To bloom or to belong…

Nikita was too much of a lone wolf; living alongside others would never work for her.

Negative thinking was never her thing but for some reason when she fell down the rabbit hole of hell, she couldn't even see light at the end of the tunnel.

The car came to an abrupt halt pulling Nikita out of her own mind. She took a quick glance and realized she was already there.

After so long, she was here, closer to Alexandra and Alexandra's safety then she had ever been.

Or so she hoped.

Every once in a while, Nikita would check up on the family. They hadn't moved and lived in the same place as her tag had led her to. And yet- there was something she could never place. Alexandra never showed up on the satellite. Perhaps it was chance- she'd only checked in a few times. She felt an annoying tinge in her stomach. She was nervous.

She paid the driver his fare and walked up the stone steps to the small house. Many others surrounded it but that was Russia's charm she supposed- houses packed upon others.

Nikita remembered the day she handed Alexandra over. Asking the driver who he was even though she already knew. The sentence she'd memorized because she had planned Alexandra's escape better then anything else in her life.

Vi vodeteli Nikolai'a?

Are you Nicolai's driver?

Her Russian, at the time, had been far from perfect and the sentence that took her time to memorize was aggravating because she worried she might hand the child over to the wrong person.

Now that she had been practicing her fear of the language barrier had melted away. All that was left was for the girl to be there- and to be safe.

She continued walking the steps until she was at the front door. Knocking thrice she stood back and patiently waited.

The door opened to reveal a young girl- perhaps 14 years of age

Without a thought Nikita looked her over- it certainly wasn't Alexandra.

"Who are you?" the girl asked in Russian.

"I'm an acquaintance of you fathers- is he home?"

"Yes…" the girl left Nikita hanging outside of the door and heard the girl speaking to a man- definitely the driver's voice.

He came outside and cast a quick glance at Nikita, scrunched his eyebrows together and tilted his head.

"Do I know you?" He asked mildly confused.

She cast him a quick glance.

Vi vodeteli Nikolai'a?

She said the sentence aloud for the first time in what seemed like ages. The man's eyes widened and he quickly understood who she was.

"You're her… that woman…" He shut the door behind him and motioned her out towards the other side.

"I'm here for Alexandra. I suppose you can say I've come to reclaim her. Where is she?"

The man avoided her gaze. It had been a few years since she'd seen him and his hair had significantly grayed and fallen.

In an attempt to be even more striking and intimidating, Nikita stood taller and took a wider stance. She cleared her throat and repeated herself.

"I said, where is she?"

The man avoided her gaze, took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. He met her eyes, shrugged and began to walk away.

What had he done? She was sure as she researched every member who worked in the industry that he was the one she would trust. That he could keep her safe. Now the smug bastard was shrugging, smoking and walking away.

_Oh hell no._

She skipped over a few step and caught him by the neck of his shirt she practically lifted him up, and had their weight difference not been one of almost a hundred pounds, she probably would have succeeded.

The cigarette fell from in between his fingers.

"I asked you twice, make me repeat this question again and I will make you regret it." She continued holding him tightly. In fact, her grip was so strong that within a few seconds, his face began to redden and he began to cough violently.

She threw him down and picked him back up. When someone didn't comply with her standards it wasn't her fault what she would do afterwards. Especially considering she was nice enough to warn him.

She shoved him against a wall.

"Where is she?!" In a furious attempt she tried maintaining her composure by not yelling but found that it wasn't working.

He then finally answered.

His silence made her angry but his word shattered her resolve.

"Gone".

It was as if her world crashed.

This child was what she'd fought tooth and nail to save. It was the one good thing she felt she'd ever done in her life and yet, here she was gone.

The one thing she thought could prove to her she was human. The one thing that could help her move on.

He'd thrown her off balance.

"What do you mean she's gone? What happened did she leave? Did she run away? Did she die? Tell me!"

Her heart was beating fast- the time was ticking and she felt as if she would explode at any moment.

The man head fell down between his shoulders.

"I gave her up."

"To whom? What do you mean?"

"I-I sold her." His face went from remorseful to angry. "It was you! It was your fault! You gave me a child when I had my own family to feed! I had my parents both in chemotherapy to support; I had my wife and children not to mention her own family! Did you think I shit out money or something? How could you give me a child to protect, who the hell do you think you are, huh?"

_This I didn't expect._

Suddenly Nikita anger boiled and she grabbed him again.

"I don't care what your excuse was or is! When I instructed you to keep her safe you said 'Anything for Nicolai's child' isn't that right? Then why are you making excuses?"

She pushed him away again.

"You will tell me what you did to her now. And everything in detail or I will hurt you beyond imagination."

"Why the hell should I?"

"Because I want to protect her!"

Something in those words rang a bell for him and he stared at her for the longest time without blinking. Then he nodded.

_Okay, I didn't expect this either. At least I don't have to completely beat it out of him._

"I sold her to Vladimir Ivanov."

She gave him a puzzled look.

"He's a Russian mobster and trafficker." Her fist clenched but he caught it before she hit. "If I'd wanted the most amount of money or didn't care for the girl at all I could have sold her to the new head of Zetrov."

"You put her life in danger."

"Wrong. I put her in danger- I kept her life safe."

Nikita sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

She wished killing the man in front of her would solve something but it wouldn't. No matter how much she hoped there wasn't a problem and the girl would have been here she knew should would just have to work until she got her back- and blaming the driver would do nothing.

"So this Vladimir Ivanov, where can I find him? And… his brothel" she squeezed the last word out with difficulty. From one hellhole to another she thought.

"My best guess is to try Volkov- I 'm sure you know where that will lead you."

Igor Volkov.

The Russian mafia.

Fuck.

She sat in the back of the taxi that the driver had called for her lost in her thoughts yet again.

However, this time around, they weren't bad thoughts.

They were strong, solid and had given her more power then she could ever had imagined.

Michael, good or bad, had once told her something she would forever remember.

"You can only go as far as you push".

So, as she was slumped in the back seat of the taxi she had her sight cleared. If she pushed enough, she'd find Alexandra.

And if that was the case then she'd push like hell.


	9. Chapter 9

The music blasted around her as the bouncer led her into the club.

Dark, loud and loaded with Russia's richest, hottest and drunkest party goers.

In 6-inch stiletto's she walked across the room searching for him. Her red silk dress tightly fitted her hitting just above her upper thigh. On the hip, was embroidered a black phoenix. It was one of the pieces she'd had custom made in China by one of Wong's regular customers who she'd met.

The music dropped and lights continues to blink as Nikita made her way through crowds of people- carefully rejecting the men who tried dancing with her.

She passed into the back, a section reserved for the highest class. Walking through rows of whores and their sponsors and then she saw him.

Grinding his way around five or so ridiculously beautiful girls was the man she'd been looking for all along. She saw him hand a bottle of champagne he had in order to put both hands on the brunette with whom he was dancing. He inched his way down to her hips and they continued.

Nikita fixed her perfectly straightened hair and ran a hand through the center as she made her way to where the handsome man was dancing. He didn't notice her until he felt her hand slide on his shoulder. He looked her over, winked and motioned for the leggy brunette he'd been with to leave.

Nikita took the other girls place in front of him- it was a good things she'd worn her highest heals, she'd forgotten how tall he was, a good 2 or so inches on Michael at least.

The music continued with an even more riotous approach then when she'd first entered. After a while, he leaned in as in to whisper something in her ear when she turned to face front and approached him with an even smaller space gap then there had been before. All this to the rhythm of the trance music that surrounded them- her grace surprised her.

"I've missed you," he said.

"The feeling's mutual." She smirked then brought her leg up high as he caught it and picked her up for a brief moment to adjust their position before they continued.

"So, what do you need me for?" he asked cocking an eyebrow.

"Besides the company of one of the most handsome men in Russia? Your brainpower, I need access to Volkov and all his subordinates." He spun Nikita to face away from him. Leaning down he whispered into her ear.

"Done and done." A smile lit up on her face and she placed her hands on top of his, which already rested on her hips. They would stay there for another hour.

An hour later he led her out and grabbed a taxi. Running a hand through his sandy blonde hair he leaned back and studied her.

"It really has been a while, hasn't it?" Nikita glanced over and gave him a sharp look.

"Why? Do I look older?"

"Nope, more beautiful then ever. I like the dress by the way."

"I thought you'd appreciate it. Thanks for agreeing to help." She shifted in her seat and rested her head on his shoulders.

"What are old friends for? Speaking of which- where are you staying?"

"At your place." His face scrunched up. "Well… where's your stuff?"

"I already said. It's at your place."

"But my place has maximum security- no one gets in or out."

_Honey, please._

She gave him a look, which was graciously returned. He then sighed and brought her in closer.

"Impudent and beautiful."

"That's me." With a cheecky grin she closed her eyes and muttered quietly "I've missed you, Dima."

Nikita fell asleep in his arms and when the taxi arrived at his home, he picked her up and brought her back to his place. Laying her on his bed he walked away towards the door and replied to the sleeping woman quoting her comment from before.

"The feelings mutual."

He smirked and walked over to his couch where he made himself comfortable and shut his eyes.

Moscow, Russia

8:00AM

Nikita awoke and found herself in Dimitry's room. She checked the watched to find that she'd overslept- at least by her stndards where 5 was the latest she woke. She walked over to where she had put her clothing and pulled over an oversized indigo colored sweater.

She entered the bathroom to find that a guest set had already been placed for her.

_Looks like Dima's already up. I should probably freshen up so I wont have to worry later on in the day._

She went into the bathroom and came out 15 minutes later showered and with a breath that smelled of the freshest mint. The smell of coffee filled the flat and when she entered the kitchen she saw Dimitry with breakfast already set up skimming through his mail. He looked up, smiled and went to the coffee pot and put a mug in front of her. She quickly finished her breakfast that consisted of oatmeal with a dollop of fruit conserve and turned to him waiting for the perfect moment to ask.

"Dimitry?"

"Hmm?"

"Remember what we talked about yesterday? You know, about me needing to speak with Volkov? When do you think that you can arrange it?"

He stretched his arms over his neck and tiled his head from left to right walked behind Nikita and softly placed his chin on her shoulder.

"Done and done."

"You did it?!"

"I said it was done and done, didn't I? Anyway tomorrow you're meeting with Volkov posing as Anna Aleksandrovskaya. She's supposed to interview him but she called me yesterday and cancelled ergo the position goes to you."

"Thank you." She turned and threw her hands around him and stayed there for a moment.

"Anything my favorite Nikita."

"Anything for the only female Nikita you know, you mean."

"I can't help it that you Americans took a traditional male name and began passing it over to girls." She chuckled as she refilled their coffee mugs.

"It must be good be the mafia's right hand man. I can't thank you enough."

"Your welcome. And stop it, you make me sound like some criminal, I work as everyone's right hand man from mafia to local police to our government. Except Gogol- I tend to stay away from getting in bed with them."

"Well considering how many times they've tried to kill you I suppose they don't like you either. Now who was that person who saved you about two years ago this time? I heard she was stunning."

"You give yourself too much credit- I could have easily gotten myself out of that one."

"And the bomb inside your jacket?"

"Well, maybe not that part."

"Seriously, Dima, what do you plan to do with your life? You're mixed up with the worst crowds imaginable."

"Quit."

"What?" She tilted her head over to the side and studied him. "What do you mean quit? This isn't something that someone can quit everyone knows you!"

"It's simple. I'm going to disappear. Into the life I've always wanted away from all of this. Didn't you notice most of the apartments empty?"

Nikita scanned the flat. He was right; she'd been so preoccupied that she hadn't even noticed the bareness of the rooms.

"So what's your plan? Will I ever see you again?"

"I'm sure you will. The plan's simple, like I said before. I've mentioned a few times that each year I like to disappear and travel around the America's, right?"

She nodded.

"That's actually a lie I've been feeding to people over the years. Every year for two months, I disappear to a small cottage on the outskirts of Ireland. For years I've been doing so. The cottage was a small thing I inherited from a relative."

She gave him a puzzled look.

"You're not Russian?"

"Not exactly. My mother was an Irishwoman who studied in England with my Russian father. Thus my living in Russia and being part of the culture whilst at the same time, speaking proper English."

"So you're a Celt! Ha! I should've known. So what from there? What else will you do?"

"I met someone who lives in the town… we get along well. And yeah- I have money, enough to never work again. But I want to continue working- I've been working on books so I'll probably do that." He continued to trail of and Nikita just watched him in silence.

"You really do have a plan. A girl, a job what else a kid?"

"Not yet but maybe" he laughed and poured himself another cup.

"So if you have a girlfriend- why the clubbing?"

"First, she's not my girlfriend yet- I'm working on it. Second, I need to maintain my personality. No one can no anything different is going on with me so when I disappear I'll have no problems. You of all people should know this."

"You knew?"

"I'd have to be deaf not to hear about your fancy escape from Division- it's probably on of the things on my list that made me realize I wanted out too."

"So its all because of me!" She stuck her tongue out and gave him a wink.

"Like I said- partially. And don't do that face again the level of unattractiveness is too much to bear."

"That's rude."

"That's the truth."

"So when are you going?" She stood up to fix her hair but continued watching him.

"Tomorrow."

She let out a sharp breath then went and put her arms around him.

"I don't know why I'm worrying so much-its just such a tricky life we're mixed up in."

"I know but Nikita getting out is worth it. I can't die here- by the hand of people who … well you know what kind of people are in our mafia and government."

"Yeah. Dima- where did this all start. It's too well planed to be after my escape. What prompted this?

"Oleg. He-he found out that some people from the government had ordered the mafia to wipe out Gogol and vice versa- there was a huge bloodbath that was covered up. People automatically assumed that he told one side and that's why there was retaliation and they killed him off."

She quickly blinked away her tears.

They killed Oleg. Dimitry's best friend. One of the only decent people who worked for the government. What the hell was the world coming to?

"When?"

"Less then a year ago. All I want to do is get out. I know I should take revenge but in a way- it's our fault for getting involved. But I'm leaving a farewell gift for the man who ordered his death."

"What's that?"

"The man who ordered the hit was the top economist in Russia. When I sell all of my stocks tomorrow, I'm selling them to a buyer who's main goal is to by them all and let them drop so low that only his product get high ratings- ergo the economist will be screwed over with low funds on everything except one."

"Stock's don't really make sense to me but I think I see where you're going."

"Yeah," He checked his watch. "When you get back from the interview tomorrow- I wont be here."

"I thought as much…"

"But, in exchange for that I've finished all of my work and I have a free day to spend- care to join me?"

"Always!" She walked over and put her hands on his shoulders "Thank you for doing all of this."

"You've saved my life a hundred times over."

"That feeling is more then mutual."

They spent the rest of the day like conjoined twins. From the busy streets of Russia, to cathedrals, to malls and Dima's dacha which was Russian for summerhouse. They passed the club they'd been in the other day and saw it was open for over an hour now.

"What time is it?" Dimitry asked.

"11- it's dark, we should be getting home."

"Or- we could go to the club one last time. Who knows if we'll ever see each other again."

"Interview tomorrow, remember? Escape tomorrow, remember? It's not the time to go clubbing!"

"And yet, let's do it."

She quickly checked over their attire. He- as always was dressed relatively sharply. A rolled up dress shirt with dark jeans. She on the other hand was in a pair of leggings and a tank top.

"My attire isn't really right…"

"It's fine. You have your heels in the trunk and you're with me- everyone get's in."

"Okay…" she walked over and exchanged her flats for the stilettos' she'd worn to the club the other day.

"To the club!" he said doing a strange jump.

"You're embarrassing me."

"Whatever, let's go!"

They cut around 80 people and walked up to the bouncer who greeted Dima and let him in.

2 hours and a handful of drinks later they walked out of the club and hopped into Dima's car. The driver proceeded to take them back and Dima- albeit drunk- tipped him one last time with a sum that the driver refused but eventually took home with him after he saw that his boss wasn't playing around.

Nikita woke up at around 9- this week had been filled with sleeping in. Her interview was at 2:30 so she had time. She rolled over to her right only to face a sleeping Dima.

Oops. No wonder I woke up in such a good mood.

She walked around the barren flat. It was bound to happen eventually. Last night's event was- she didn't really know how to explain it. She shrugged it off, relatively drunk fun between two close friends- it really didn't matter.

Oh, well.

Grabbing some money from her wallet, she left the flat to go to the bakery that was located downstairs.

She quickly greeted the owner and picked a few items up- rolls and pastries of sorts before she headed back to the flat.

4 hours and a relatively emotional goodbye later, Nikita sat in the back seat of a cab waiting to meet Volkov for her interview. She was anxious- but assured herself that confidence was the key.

The click of her heels echoed as she made her way into the office. A brief greeting to the secretary, she pulled out her fake identification. But when the secretary checked it, she just shook her head.

"I'm sorry, he had to cancel."

Nikita was thrown back for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

"About ten minutes ago he ran out of here angrily telling me to cancel all appointments I don't really know much else. He left everything he was working on… his case, computer everything. Apparently one of his contacts just disappeared."

_So he managed to go off the grid. Good luck, babe._

"You don't say." Nikita tilted her head in amusement. "Must be stressful- keeping tabs on the whole country's problems…"

"Oh yeah" the woman's mind went elsewhere and she soon forgot about Nikita who had gone back and sat onto the sofa lost on what to do next.

His computer was there. All the information she needed was there less then 10 meters away.

And then, after all these years- the mission turned her way when she needed it.

She had been sitting in the corner behind the secretary's office gazing into the office that she had no chance of entering when all of a sudden the secretary got a call, out the phone down, scanned the room thinking it was empty and ran out.

With out wasting her time, Nikita ran over to the desk and overruled the security system on Volkov's door. Glancing around nervously she searched the parameter until she found his computer inside his desk. She opened it- quickly covering the camera part and hoped for the best. Typing in the name Vladimir Ivanov produced no result when she spotlighted it. It was only then, however when it occurred to her to use his email.

The idiot had left it open and she quickly typed the name in once again but this time it produced good results. Vladimir Ivanov.

6 emails.

Bingo.

She downloaded them all onto the flash drive she carried around with her for good measure and ran of the building- she was close.


	10. Chapter 10

Alexandra.

A stood for abruptly cut out of a good life. L was for the lack of compassion life had shown her. E was for excruciating pain she probably had endured over the past few years. X stood for nothing, as Nikita didn't know many things with that letter besides a xylophone.

As she sat in Henry's private jet the only thing that took her mind of anger was the game she played daily in the 3rd grade.

In all honesty, there were many possible reasons for her anger.

Perhaps she'd grown tired of searching for a ghost.

Perhaps she missed the Division friends who she'd left behind.

And perhaps, it was the fact that she was flying back to New York. All the way back home to end her search for the Russian princess.

Why?

Because as it turned out, Alexandra, bought by Vlad Ivanov, had been living in a brothel that- had she had the patience for- Nikita could have walked to.

It was the fact that Nikita had lived within not just the same country or city but the same area code as Ivanov's mafia-run brothel that killed her.

Yet, no matter how much she scolded herself, she knew that, even with her luck, she could never have found Alexandra.

She leaned back in her seat only to reminisce about yesterdays rather eventful ride.

**October 13th, 2007**

**Moscow, Russia**

**3:00 PM**

Nikita flew down three flights of stair without even a moment's hesitation and flash drive etching its way into her palm. The more flights she crossed, the more it occurred to her that it probably hadn't been a good idea to wear 5-inch pumps. However, considering most of Russia was always dressed to impress, she justified her choice of shoes.

Inside her apartment she inserted the USB and opened up the 6 results. Saved e-mails here, another there and bingo.

An address.

She leaned in read it more carefully.

_Oh, fuck._

And that is how she came to be. Sitting in an aircraft bound for home- one she now knew that she shared with Alexandra.

**New York**

**10:00 AM**

She'd never been jet-lagged before- it was always the same story. Sleeping the whole time one the plane to be on track and not lose a day. Yet, this trip from Russia set her back by an entire day. Assuring herself that she'd be back to normal within the next 2 days she got to her morning routine. It was too late to go on a run without risk being seen so she just spent the morning working out inside- and nourishing herself with veggie shakes. As she downed the green juice as a replacement for lunch it stuck her strange how much she'd actually missed having these meals- although dining in fancy restaurants and using up room service was great, the health benefits of shakes were something else.

Nikita was finished- although not in a literal sense.

10 hours from now- she would take Alexandra and bring her back to the apartment. Give her a home and anything she needed. It was her duty- one she'd sworn to herself- to protect and help this child.

Although the child wasn't really a child any longer considering her age and all she'd been through.

With 10 hours to kill, she began to build her portable sauna. Everything she needed was in place- in fact she'd set it up the day before to make sure it would work but it took up too much room and she needed space. Besides, the sauna, although a nice place to relax really killed the atmosphere she had going.

The loft she lived in had become her home. Her 'me' place. A little Zen paradise.

3 hours later she had finished and gave her creation an admiring look.

When she'd been in division, being abruptly cut from any access to Ketamine drove her insane. She had violent outbursts and her body felt weak. Just one hit was all she needed. She needed to come down easy. A guard had once held her down when she was yelling that she needed a hit. She remembered how he picked her up and pushed her against a wall.

"Like it or not, you're stuck here in a drug free world. Just relax."

"I need a hit- that's all I want. I just- I just need to come down easy. You'll help me out, right? I just need one- just a hit…." Her voce grew weaker and her body was running on a last resort.

"There is no easy way out. Just relax, breath in and out."

"I don't need you telling me what to do, I need a hit!" She shouted at him and tried to worm her way out but he kept his stance.

"Think of division as a gift- you have a chance to get clean. And you know what Amanda says 'It's very rude to question a gift'. "

Her body slumped, she was weak. Without the drugs she'd relied so heavily the adrenaline that used to be produced was now fading. A deep breath in and she fell to her knees. She had passed out.

A while later, Nikita had awoken to find herself on her bed inside the division chamber. She looked around an saw the guard sitting on the other side of the room.

"Drink the water on the table, it'll help."

She finished the cup within seconds and then looked at the guard.

"What are you doing here?"

"You passed out, remember? I carried you over. I also realized that you'd be dehydrated. When your body lacks food or water, the cravings get worse. I think you've noticed that by now."

She stayed at the corner of her bed and gave him a quick look over.

"You were a druggie, too?"

"Yeah- anything I could find I used. Since I was 17 or so."

"Does it ever go away?"

"The thirst? Yeah."

"You're lying."

"I'm not. It takes years, and it takes restraint but it really does go away. I felt it never would. But it did and now- I'm never going back."

"I don't think it'll work for me."

"You're the vegetarian aren't you? You gave up meat- what's so different about drugs?"

"You just compared drugs to food."

"No- I compared to the willpower you actually possess to the one you think you don't have."

"But it's not even about willpower half the time. I just feel so weak- it's like my body can't do anything. I don't know what to do…I really don't…"

"Are you kidding me? The answer to that's the easiest of them all."

"What?"

"I said the answer to that's the easiest of them all."

"You're not Snow White's magic mirror. Stop talking in riddles and get to the point."

"What I mean is that when you feel weak, you're body just needs adrenaline. I've also felt that it's important to get the toxins out of your body to feel healthy."

"And I do this how?"

"Exercise. Day and night. You sweat every toxin out and when your body workout, natural endorphins are produced and you feel better then ever- trust me."

"I'm not one to trust a stranger."

"I'm a guard."

"Same thing."

"Okay… then you don't have to trust me, just believe this one sentence that I say. Heat and exercise make the cravings go away quickly and it makes sure they never return. "

She lay on her bed for a long time and then looked back up at him and nodded.

"Remember," he added "you're not doing this as a favor to me- it's for you and your body. You have a second chance, use it wisely."

He shut the door on her and left.

As it turned it that the guard had been right. The more heat she produced the less she wanted anything. That was the idea behind the portable sauna she'd begun to build.

With the sauna set up she went downstairs to take a nice long bath. Her boxing in addition to a yoga session and building something practically from scratch was hard work. She needed rest and relaxation for her plan to go smoothly when she went to retrieve Alexandra- not that she actually had a plan. Nikita never had a plan. To the dismay of her partners, she'd change it half way even if she did have one. Not that she cared what they though- she liked operating solo, anyway.

**Nikita's Apartment**

**7:00 PM**

Her eyes flew open as she realized she had fallen asleep reading. She noticed her copy of Catch-22 was by her side- luckily, she wasn't a fussy sleeper and her copy remained perfectly in tact. After her bath, she'd realized she still had a few hours- unfortunately for her patience was a virtue she didn't possess.

Nikita saw her bookmark was on the very last page. She quickly read it for the 5th time or so. Michael had recommended the book, one of his favorites, to her.

She finished it and saw that it was almost time to get ready.

7:05

She was going to be in the brothel at 8.

While she was inside the bath she began to play out the scenario inside her head. She would pose as a face of a willing client and then be lead out into the private office. Once inside, she would strike. If Ivanov behaved, she would spare him. If not- she hadn't done all this to quit now.

She walked over to her rack of clothes. It was a nice selection; she had to hand it to herself. Her fashion sense had long drifted away from dreadlocks and midriff baring tank tops she had borrowed from the whores who drifted in the same druggie sections as her.

Her outfit needed to be simple yet badass. It needed to be strong and intimidating. Badass wasn't really a word that had a place in her vocabulary- but it had a place in Birkhoff's.

She left the apartment 20 minutes to 8 and drove off in the flashy Kia that Whitfield had left for her. It was her first time driving it- all the other times she had relied on the dark green jeep or the motorcycle. New York was filled with so much traffic that unless the distance was worth it she walked.

She turned around the corner and really noticed what kind of area she was in. Dirty and unappreciated. It surely lacked funding and housed all kinds of people. Her home was only 15 or 20 minutes from Times Square by car but when you added in another 25 minutes or so to the other side, you ended up in a place you would never want to be. She passed the Duane Reed and noticed the lights didn't work. She knew that about 15 minutes away from the brothel, there would be a line of clubs where the whores would hook up with various suitors. Tacky.

Realizing that her car wouldn't be safe, she drove up to the club that looked the most prestigious with valet parking and all. Only in New York could you have such a packed and upbeat street on one side and a brothel on the other. Disgusting. She loved New York but at the same time- it housed some of the most monstrous people in the world.

She dropped her car off, paid an overpriced amount and left on foot to head toward the address that supposedly housed the whores.

She avoided people at all cost and stayed hidden- although she was in relatively business like attire; the clothing had a sultry side to it as well.

She went down the sloped concrete floor, which she assumed belonged to a empty garage.

_An empty space, huh. Maybe I'm lost- not that I actually can be, I __don't even know where I'm going._

And then she heard a drunken giggle.

The voice got louder and she heard the clicking of stilettos accompanied by a march. She finally saw the couple- a impossibly thin whore with dyed red hair and pale skin accompanied by a man who was obviously well off and enjoying the sight of a practically pre-pubescent girl in a dress that barely covered her.

_Oh yeah, I'm definitely in the right place. Hmm… I wonder how much these girl's get paid._

Nikita stood the corner. The clearly drunk couple passed her without a second glance. They walked to the other side of the wall and banged on what seemed to be a barely visible door and were let in after a moment.

_Clever- very clever. _

She walked over to the other side where the two had been only a moment before and traced the door with her fingertips. The handle was inside and it had been given a paint job the same color as the wall so it would stay hidden.

It was a brilliant tactic to hide the brothel; she gave the Russian Mafia that.

_But not clever enough to hide from me. Damn gangsters think they're so original but it's the same thing over and over again._

And so, after a few moments, Nikita knocked on the door, which opened to reveal an man who stood at least 6 and a half feet from the ground with hair the color of lemon zest due to all the hair gel he'd applied.

"What do you want?" His voice, heavy with a Russian accent bellowed across the empty garage.

"I'm here to see Vladimir Ivanov."

"Get lost."

"I have a meeting at 8. If I'm late, Volkov will be very disappointed."

It was a white lie but held enough weight to work. The guard looked her up and down and pushed the door open.

She followed him down the hallway, passing various girls in their 'cubicles' waiting for a client. She hated this place already and the smell drove her insane. Girls, starting from the age of 11 or 12 were lying down on their beds, passed out, overdosed and dazed.

"In there." The man knocked on the door and left.

"Vat? Who is this?"

"I request a meeting- I'm here on behalf of Volkov."

She heard rustling behind the door and shortly after, it opened. The man's salt and pepper hair was combed back; he had a fake tooth and smelled of drink. Just about as stereotypical as possible when it came to middle aged Russian men.

"Vlad, nice to meet you." He motioned inside and Nikita followed. "So vat can I help you with? I sent all profits over there should be no problems…"

"Oh there are no problems- for now, at least. I'm actually here in a more private inspection sort of way."

"Okay. How can I help you?"

"A few years ago Shurik Marinsky sold you a girl. She was 13 at the time. Her name was Alexandra. He told me she went by Sasha- where is she?"

Vlad, who until that moment hadn't really been paying attention sat up straight and looked over Nikita getting more suspicious. He hadn't received any notification. This hadn't ever happened or been authorized. How did she know about Sasha? Just who the hell was this bitch?

"Vat's it to you?"

"Like I said, just checking in."

"Get Volkov to call me- then we can talk."

"I can if I want but honestly, it's a simple question. Where is Alexandra?"

Ivanov ignored her then stood up and walked to the other side of the room and lit a cigarette. Nikita then noticed the dog he had in his room. A steel cage stood in the corner and the pit-bull was whimpering.

"Oh shut up, dog." He kicked the cage until the dog fell silent.

_Oh, hell no._

"What did you just do!?"

"It's just a dog." He looked her over. "You're still young but eventually, you'll figure out that in this world very few people matter and animals certainly don't. You do what you want. Like the women here- they don't matter. No one knows them anyway so I just get them high and that's it. I make money off of them and whenever I want I can do anything I want to them. I even have an age selection to go off of now that younger ones came in last month and my older ones have aged."

Perhaps she should have been more patient.

Or perhaps it was a good thing that in less then a second after Vlad had said those words, Nikita had him pinned on the ground with a knife to him.

Her moral and values were different then the norm but they were a hell lot better then his. It was unacceptable to hurt living things or, to make money off others. That way of living was only for scum.

"My patience is running short. I'm going to ask you one last time, where is Alexandra?"

"Fuck off." Nikita saw that his left cheek bore a deep gash. Co symmetry looked nice on butterfly's- perhaps it would help this man out. Vlad tried to squirm his way out but Nikita had him pinned down. "Get off me you fucking bitch."

She struck.

His right cheek now bore a deep red gash identical to the one on his left.

"Let's play a game. Every time that you don't answer, I'll cut you up. Now, take two, where is she?" She inched the knife down to his throat and pressed it but this time without a cut. "Answer me."

"The whore ran away over a year ago. How the fuck should I know where she is."

She closed her switchblade and got off him. Vlad stood up and began to walk towards her when Nikita threw a punch that would knock him out for the next few hours.

She existed to fulfill only one purpose. Now, she had failed. She was lost.

Running a hand through her hair, she wandered around the office. Nothing. The pit bull whimpered again and she walked over. It backed away. Without anything else to do she opened the cage and set the dog free. It rubbed against her and ran.

It was then when she saw a random metal pipe on the side of the door. She pulled it off and went out hitting the pipe violently against the side of the door.

"I want everybody out! You're free, there's a woman's shelter up north of the Bright Lights Club get there now! Go!" She continued to bang the pipe until one of the edges flattened. "I want out! I'll set a bomb to clean this place if any more people stay, out! NOW!" With those words, the clients and the originally busy whores got up and ran as well. It was empty. There was nothing in this brothel for her. She walked out of the house and into the lot.

"Damn it Alexandra where are you?!" She kicked over a garbage bin yelling the words to herself again.

A thin girl stood on the other end of the door and watched Nikita carefully. She walked clumsily on her heels and staggered over to Nikita.

"Are you looking for Sasha?"


	11. Chapter 11

Nikita let out a sharp breath and stared at the girl.

In Russia, Sasha _was_ short for Alexandra.

_Could_ she know?

_Did_ she know?

The thin girl sat down onto the floor and lit a cigarette. Looking up at Nikita, she motioned for her to sit on the floor next to her.

"Sasha ran away. I don't remember when. Time passes by slowly in this hell hole, I never know what day it is."

"Do you know where? Or why?"

The girl gave Nikita a glare.

"Why else? To get out. We don't even get paid for our work here."

Nikita nodded. It was Amanda's first rule to never cut off a prisoner- if they were talking, you could distract them to the point of not speaking again. She figured it was a good time to apply the manipulative bitch's rules.

The girl stretched her legs out in front of her and continued smoking. "It was probably more then 2 years ago when Vlad called her into his office. He always liked her a little too much and the same with me. In our group- we were the first ones. There was a time when he would 'train' just us. Now that Sasha's gone, I'm his only favorite left."

She finished smoking and stubbed the butt into the ground.

"But you don't care about that. Anyway, one day he called her into the office and was yelling at her. You see, in this place, we're allowed to do whatever we want as long as we bring back customers. But Vlad was worried Sasha was tricking him. She'd become friends with this boy and Vlad though she'd been giving him free treatment."

The girl looked over.

"What's your name?"

"Nikita."

"That's a boy's name."

"Yeah. I've been told."

The girl chuckled.

"That's basically it. It was then she decided she'd had enough and when he told her to _you know_ she grabbed a knife from the desk and cut his cheek open."

"Wow."

"Yeah. The she knocked him out and ran for it. She made a stop on the way to me, gave me her watch and was gone."

They both stayed silent for a while not knowing what to say.

"Do you know where I can find her?"

"I've seen traces of her around so I know where you can probably find her. She was friends with this boy- his name was Ronnie. He's the son of dealer from who Vlad buy's drugs from."

"You got an address?"

"Not exactly. It's a few blocks from here. There's a bakery around the Bright Lights club. To the right of that bakery there's an apartment complex. Apartment 4- that's Ronnie's place, I've been there before."

"Apartment 4 got it, thanks."

Nikita began to turn as the girl called out.

"Nikita!" She looked back. "What are you going to do to Sasha?"

Nikita shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm going to try help her."

The girl nodded. "Good. Tell her Irina say's hi."

"I will." Nikita reached into her packet and brought out her wallet. She counted the 3 twenty's and handed them to Irina. "Here, take them."

Irina's eyebrow's raised.

"You want to do business with me?"

Nikita chuckled. "No, not at all. But take the money. Hide it from Vlad and run. There's a woman's shelter around here, go there. Just… take care of yourself."

"Thanks… good luck finding Sasha."

Nikita ran.

Literally.

She was too close- so close. It wasn't until when she reached apartment number 4 when she realized that her whole life was about to change. Aside from the idea she had about bringing division down, the one main goal she had in life could possibly be completed within minutes.

She pressed her ear against the door and heard nothing. Anxious, she waited a few more minutes. When there was still nothing, she couldn't take it anymore. She reached into her hair and brought out a hairpin. Stretching it out as much as possible, she stuck it into the door handle and quickly worked her way until it clicked open.

Putting the now useless hairpin into her back pocket she carefully entered the apartment. It was disgusting. Packet of drugs here and there, a used needle on the table and clothing and junk all over the place. To go from the grand Udinov mansion to this was quite the downgrade.

She checked her watch.

10 o'clock. 2 hours since she entered the brothel.

She walked around some more looking into the rooms. Whoever lived here was definitely well off and definitely had a girl living here occasionally. But she would never be sure it was Alex until she saw her with her own two eyes.

She let out a sigh. It was useless to stand around here and wait for the guy, whoever he was to get back. Besides, he probably wouldn't take it to well to find someone in his room. Especially, considering this guy looked to be involved with drugs which certainly wasn't someone to be in the same room with.

Tomorrow, then. I'll be back.

The door jiggled.

Without another thought, Nikita slid under the bed and hid.

"Ronnie man how long's this shit gonna take?" Nikita peered out from the bed covers to see 2 blondes side by side and another tall African American to the right.

"5 seconds." The blonde with the longer hair stretched out and grabbed a bag filled with something. Nikita's guessed that the white powder wasn't flour for a cake.

"Okay so what's the plan for this week?" The black man who seemed to be around 20 grabbed himself a beer from the mini fridge and began to drink.

"We're making 50 off of Alex tomorrow I'm meeting her at Baroda's tomorrow to make the deal. She lives under some bridge near by. Then there's-"

"Hold on." The other blonde spoke up. "Alex? Hot and always high Alex?"

"Yeah" Ronnie tilted his head "why?"

"Been looking for a chance for her to make me feel good. Now I've found it."

"Amen to that" the other guy continued to drink his beer. "What d'ya say, Ronnie? Want to join in on the fun? Fuck the whore?"

Ronnie shrugged.

"Guess so. Guys lets drive over to Baroda's now, I have to deliver some of his stuff. Then we can party and tomorrow, we fuck Alex."

"What time do we get there?"

"Meeting set for 12."

"Sweet. Now lets get over to Baroda's and hurry up. Big day tomorrow- she's a feisty one."

The men grabbed a few more packets and left the apartment.

_Rape her? Like hell you will._

With one last glance at the apartment she left following them as they walked down the street. To make sure that she could get to Alex in time, she'd need to know where she was headed.

**13 hours later…**

She sat in the bathtub and drank her wine. She had followed the man to the house and scoped the parameter. After making sure she'd memorized everything there was to know about the house, she left.

And that, was how she found herself enjoying her drink,

It was time. At 11 sharp she left the bathroom and went to get changed. Wine was something she hadn't had in all her time of living in the mansion but she needed it to calm her nerves.

Neatly dressed and gun in boot she drove her car out to where she had followed the boys the other night. She parked a block away and walked the rest of the journey.

Then she saw her.

The girl hadn't really changed. Sure she'd grown taller but she still looked more or less the same. A lot like her mother.

Alex entered the building and Nikita followed.

She heard her call out his name and heard music blasting from the inside. It was only after she heard Alex yell when she entered.

"You make us feel good" she heard Ronnie say, "we make you feel good."

"No!" Alex was struggling. Nikita walked faster.

When she saw the 2 men pinning her down she lost her temper and spoke up. The original plan had been to walk in and without a word kick their asses but she felt as though her soothing and nonchalant presence was just as intimidating.

"Let the girl go." Nikita walked a few more steps. Alex was struggling and pulled one of their arms to see who had just walked in.

"What?" The blonde turned around with a gun in his hand.

_Amateur. Can't even hold a gun right._

She quickly disarmed him and knocked him out.

"Who the hell are you?!" Ronnie looked over not knowing what to do.

"Fairy- godmother!" Nikita hitch kicked him to the crotch before knocking him out as well. It was only a matter of moments before all of them were on the ground.

_Idiots. Also… that fairy godmother line was cute, I should use it more often._

Nikita heard a shot and turned towards Alex.

"Whoa."

_Seriously, kid, put that thing down before you hurt yourself._

She walked closer. "It's okay… it's okay." She lowered her hand in a strange attempt to calm Alex down but another shot was fired. Due to years of building her reflexes, she elbowed the girl.

And then Alex was passed out as well.

_Oops. _

_I probably shouldn't have knocked this one out. _

Nikita rolled her eyes.

"Hi, I'm Nikita. Nice to meet you."

She dragged Alex off the bed and swung her over her shoulder. After she got her back to the apartment she put her in the sauna. It was going to be a long road until she was clean but when she finished, it would be worth it.

The phoenix would train the butterfly and their silent ambush against division was yet to begin.

**The End**

Author's Note:

Hi there. I haven't been writing anything to not bother you from reading the story but now that it's over, here I am. I'd like to thank those who've been reading and bearing with me through all these breaks I've had. It's been a long few months, which in my opinion have been worth it. Leave a comment, please! This is only a part of the many pre-pilot works I have planned so I'll hopefully see you commenting on my next story!

Goldduckies


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